Rail abandonment plan to advance because the tracks are gone

BNSF Railway’s plan to abandon 2.12 miles of right of way in downtown Coeur d’Alene won’t adversely affect the area, the Idaho Public Utilities Commission recently ruled.

That’s because the entire railroad track, which runs from City Park past the Coeur d’Alene Resort along Front Street to the Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course, was removed years ago, the commission said in a press release.

The abandonment is mostly housekeeping, and the majority of the old rail line is now Front Street.

The rail line once served the Potlatch Mill that was located where the golf course is now.

Nobody testified against the abandonment during the commission’s June 14 public hearing.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Surface Transportation Board has the final say on the abandonment.

BNSF Railway is asking the board to speed up the abandonment process. The railroad must prove that no trains have used the line for two years and that there are no complaints about the lack of rail service.