Resolution on rail line may come after nearly 2-year fight

Trains have not used the Siskiyou Summit stretch since May '08
Greg Stiles

Mail Tribune

MEDFORD — There finally may be light at the end of the tunnel for the Coos-Siskiyou Shippers Coalition.

A spokesman for the coalition said Monday the group is hopeful the Obama administration's Surface Transportation Board chairman nominee Daniel R. Elliott III will bring resolution to its ongoing tiff with Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad.

It's been nearly a year since the shippers coalition filed an emergency Petition for Alternative Rail Service with the Surface Transportation Board to allow West Texas & Lubbock Railway and Yreka Western to operate the Siskiyou Summit line.

The shippers have been at odds with CORP for nearly two years since the Rail America unit shut down the line connecting Coos Bay with Eugene and curtailed runs over the Siskiyou Summit between Weed, Calif., and Ashland. CORP hasn't run trains over an 85-mile stretch crossing the Siskiyou Summit since May 6, 2008, forcing Timber Products Co. and Roseburg Forest Products to rely on trucks between Northern California and their Southern Oregon plants.

The Surface Transportation Board approves rail mergers and decides rate disputes between shippers and railroads. Elliott told a House panel last week he would be "proactive" in addressing shippers' allegations of pricing abuses by freight-rail companies.

That was welcome news, said Coos-Siskiyou Shippers Coalition spokesman Bob Ragon.

"This is more than we've heard from the STB in a year," Ragon said Monday.

The STB has heard from both sides, but apparently delayed action until a new chairman for the three-person panel stepped in. The coalition said it presented the matter as a service issue, but CORP argued it was a matter of price.

Congress now is considering a bill that would overhaul the relationship and give the government broader regulatory powers.

"The 300 percent rate increases on the Siskiyou Summit that CORP threw at us in May of '08 would have prompted a long and costly legal battle to overturn," Ragon said. "Our issue was lack of service, but they turned it into a rate issue. The present system to challenge exorbitant rate increases provides no meaningful relief in a timely, cost-effective manner. Having better oversight by the STB can only be a major improvement."

Although the faltering economy slowed down construction and the need for raw materials, Springfield-based Timber Products now relies on trucks to ship veneer from its Northern California plants to Southern Oregon.

"Local shippers feel that they will be better off with additional federal control of rail rate levels," wrote Tom McFarland, an attorney for the coalition, in an e-mail. "Local shippers have experienced exorbitant rail rate increases as rate contracts have expired with little or no hope of meaningful federal oversight."

Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail business@mailtribune.com.


Reader Reaction We welcome your feedback on this story, or any follow-up story ideas you might have. Please send a letter to the editor to letters@mailtribune.com, or submit story ideas online here. When submitting a letter to the editor, please review our submissions policy.
Ads by Google
News
Calendar
Homes
Autos
Jobs
Classifieds
Search eSouthernOregon.com

What are you looking for?

Business Name


Location

LOCAL REVIEW
  • The view, the coffee, the...
    posted on 11/11/2009
  • There are several Italian restaurants in the Medford but DiBello's is by far the best. Not only is the menu...
    posted on 8/31/2009
  • Great food, great service, great...
    posted on 6/1/2009
  • yes it can get loud as the establishment is small but the food is good. well worth...
    posted on 6/15/2009
  • My husband & I went to Dragonfly this past weekend for breakfast. We sat out on the patio & enjoyed the...
    posted on 6/24/2009
  • Had some questions about my check engine light in my Subaru and they happily pulled the code for me. The...
    posted on 6/17/2009
  • El Patron is the best Mexican Restaurant in the Rogue Valley. Emillo and Josephino are the sweetest and...
    posted on 6/25/2009
  • The Cafe has changed hands and is for the better. Had to wait quite awhile for our meal but it was worth it....
    posted on 8/6/2009
  • I love going out to Valley View, what a beautiful location. I enjoy strolling around the grounds plus the...
    posted on 8/31/2009
  • A community tradition. Remember when store employees knew about the stuff they were selling? They still do...
    posted on 6/12/2009
Place an Ad
Scam Watch
Oregon Healthy Living