Oregon town loses in state-railroad squabble

FLORENCE, Ore. – The tussle between the state of Oregon and a railroad company over a Coast Range line could be on the minds of Douglas County drivers down the road – while their cars are idling at rail crossings.

Officials in Roseburg say they may be caught between the state and the railroad as a result of last week’s developments related to the decision of the Central Oregon and Pacific Railroad to close a 111-mile short line between Coquille and Eugene last September.

After the decision, the Oregon Transportation Commission suspended a $7.7 million grant for the railroad to build a rail yard and transfer facility in Winchester, north of Roseburg.

This fall, the federal Surface Transportation Board ordered the railroad to sell the line to the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay. The port plans to buy it.

This week, the commission scheduled a vote on rescinding the grant altogether.

That could mean no solution to the congestion problems in downtown Roseburg.

“Current switching operations happen in the middle of our downtown,” said Roseburg City Manager Eric Swanson. “When they’re switching cars, they slow traffic way down. The yard is too small to do all the cars they need to when they’re full. It bisects the downtown business community from being able to have traffic move through.”

The state had agreed to provide 80 percent of the money for the Winchester freight yard, with capacity for 294 railcars. The railroad was to provide 20 percent. It bought the 28-acre property and the material, such as rock ballast, ties, switches, rail and other track material.

According to a suit the railroad filed this week against the state, that has cost more than $4 million.

Swanson said he suspects the state wants to funnel the money to the Coos Bay port.

Port officials aren’t lobbying to siphon money from the Douglas County project, said Dave Kronsteiner, president of the port commission, although he said that if the state does decide to make the money available for other projects, “we’re definitely interested in it.”