In the Journal Star’s editorial today, they continue to insinuate wrongdoing on the part of Pioneer Industrial Railcorp:
In its filing with the [Surface Transportation Board], Pioneer suggests that customers will be “irreparably harmed” if they can’t be served on the Kellar [Branch]. It neglects to mention that it quit running trains on the track last week, leaving box cars intended for its last remaining customer sitting in the rail yard.
And the Journal Star neglects to mention that the reason Pioneer left is because of this letter from the City of Peoria’s attorney Thomas McFarland:
Read it for yourself. It’s dated August 15 and says, “This is to advise correspondingly that Pioneer Industrial Railway Co. (PIRY) should cease rail operations and vacate the Kellar Branch at Peoria-Peoria Heights, IL, no later than 11:59 p.m., Sunday, August 21, 2005.” (emphasis mine)
On August 18, the Journal Star reported under the headline “Railroad pulls out early“:
After fighting for more than a year to keep providing rail service on the Kellar Branch, Pioneer Railcorp abandoned the line and one of its customers without aiding in the transition to a new provider, as promised.
Public Works Director Steve Van Winkle said Wednesday that Pioneer Railcorp chairman Guy Brenkman had told the city’s attorney in the STB case that his company would assist for as long as 30 days in the transition period to the new short-line operator.
Instead, Pioneer Railcorp immediately stopped providing any service, leaving Carver Lumber without access to the track and forcing Granville-based Central Illinois Railway to expedite its takeover.
“(Pioneer Railcorp) did no days transition,” Van Winkle said.
So, Van Winkle is upset that Pioneer didn’t provide 30 days service in transition, yet the city gave Pioneer only six days to vacate the tracks. So who really left Carver Lumber in the lurch? Answer: the city.
Other questions:
(1) Is communication between city departments so bad that the left hand doesn’t know what the right is doing? Or is the city deliberately trying to vilify Pioneer?
(2) Did the Journal Star not read the STB filing on which they reported? Did they not notice the letter from McFarland? Or are they deliberately ignoring it and continuing to publish false information about Pioneer in an effort to discredit them?