After spending more than $16 million in state and federal grants to acquire the dilapidated Coos Bay Rail Link in 2008, the Port of Coos Bay has determined that initial repair estimates are a little off the mark. Rather than $25 to $30 million costs could reach as much as $190 million, according to a 2003 bulk cargo study, to increase capacity of the line to support a coal and or cargo terminal on the North Spit.
The port maintains that costs to increase capacity beyond the 10 MPH limit now set by the condition of the line will be paid by eager customers anxiously awaiting the golden opportunity to ship to and from the Port of Coos Bay rather than, Portland, Seattle, Tacoma, Oakland, Long Beach…. So where is the CEO who dreamed this up, deferring his own due diligence four full years with the full consent of the commissioners? He is now tending bar administering to the City of Blanchard, Oklahoma.
Sigh
this link details various systems in use, and some to come. Some think this is 10 years out, so what, we’ve been waiting 10 years for LNG to arrive, and we will be paying to repair these old tracks for many years to come, well beyond 10 years.. All we need is the political will to get on the right track.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/engineering/infrastructure/4232548
The port, SCDC, the chamber of commerce, and the governor would have us dump hundreds of millions on this train to nowhere, and still it will only serve to transport coal and liquid gas products for 10 years at most. That goal is going to continue to cripple our local and state economy.
Double-stack rail transport
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A BNSF double-stack train passing through Cajon Pass in California
Part of a double-stack train
Double-stack train loaded at APM Terminals in Portsmouth, Virginia
Double-stack rail transport is a form of intermodal freight transport where intermodal containers are stacked two high on railroad cars. Introduced in North America in 1984, double stack has become increasingly common, being used for nearly 70% of United States intermodal shipments. Using double stack technology, a freight train of a given length can carry roughly twice as many containers, sharply reducing costs per container.
A little reading showed me rail is going to double decker cars anyway. Not one tunnel or bridge on this line could EVER handle modern rail traffic. Why the hell do we even have to keep having these discussions? I urge every one of you to watch Jody dress down the Koch Heads at the Port at their last meeting. My goodness, I didn’t know the gal had it in her ! I don’t know how she’s kept her calm this long. All it took was one of their damn “public” meetings, where Jody asked the board a question, and they told her “we aren’t here to answer your questions”, I instinctively shouted out “what, it’s a public meeting”. They explained it was for “the public to speak, we don’t have to answer”. True story, try it. These ass hats buy their toilet paper because We The People pay for it. But they have no need to respond in public. F that. Infuriating.
The state of Oregon now owns this dilapidated RR. Long time readers of this blog have known its state of dis-repair for many months, thanks to the reporting of private citizens, who live along its path. We also knew that millions more were going to have to be invested to make it viable. The port wants you to believe that investment will come from coal company’s wanting to export to china, that’s bull****, and we all know it. The tax payers alongside the tracks will be the steady investors to this track, and the rest of us tax payers will pick up the slack, for this antiquated system. Enjoy the ride if you can. If we had a governor that would choose to lead and not follow, they would scrap it and build the next generation of rail, that could haul freight and passengers, but that might make our area prosper, so don’t count on that happening. Just pay your taxes and shut up, that’s what these architects of prosperity want.
Where are the recently promised daily mile long trains full of logs? What did all of that emergency funding for repair of track and tunnels accomplish? Anybody seen a train? I travel between Coos County and Eugene weekly and I have never seen it. Incoming container shipments require multiple dedicated tracks. Plus tracks for the west bound coal and logs. Nobody wants a single track. All want a direct and rapid route to and from Eugene. Containers need a direct route to the south bound highway 5 corridor by truck also; not a road with winter landslides. Urgent container shipments require a nearby airport with at least a 10,000 foot runway to safely accomodate “heavy” aircraft. That’s double what we now have. Perhaps it’s time for Wim to put out a second edition. It’s difficult to keep up with all the bull crap coming from those commissioners that we did not elect. Is all of this railroad experience good reason to vote for Commissioner McKeown for whatever office she seeks? The whole damn state not just the local railroad will be in deep crap!