The latest goings-on regarding the Kellar Branch involves the cost to make the embattled rail line operational again. As reported in a previous post, the City contends that it would be too expensive now to make the Kellar Branch operable, originally claiming that it would cost over $2 million to make the necessary upgrades. Then, just a few days later, they claimed it would only cost $50,000.

Well, now they say, in a Surface Transportation Board (STB) filing on August 16, that what they really meant to say was $500,000, not $50,000. That was a typo — a typo it took them apparently 14 days (August 2-16) to discover. Oops! Then, in the very next breath, they say “On August 4, 2006, Central Railgroup Construction Services, LLC provided a more detailed estimate of the cost of that rehabilitation in the amount of $546,705.”

Ah, okay, let me see if I’ve got this straight now. It’s not $2 million, or $50,000, or $500,000. Those figures were all wrong. The real figure is $546,705. Okay, got it.

It seems the city can’t quite make up their minds how much it costs, frankly. There was no source given for the original estimate of $50,000 (or $500,000, if you believe it was a typo). Yet two days later, they received an exact quote for roughly the same amount. What a coincidence! And just where did that figure come from?

The last figure comes from a company called “Central Railgroup Construction Services, LLC.” According to the State of Illinois LLC file, that company was established on August 2, 2006, and lists the same address and agent as Central Illinois Railroad Holdings, LLC, which just acquired CIRY. On August 4, this brand new company was able, based on their two-days worth of experience, to estimate how much it would cost to rehabilitate the Kellar Branch. And, by jove, it’s right around $500,000, the new and improved, if unverified, estimate from the city.

Meanwhile, Pioneer Railcorp, which has been in business considerably longer than two days and has extensive experience actually running trains successfully over the Kellar Branch, has estimated it would only cost a little under $10,000 to rehab the line, and they’re willing to do that out of their own pocket.

Furthermore, the rail line was operable when Pioneer was forced off the line, and the contract between the City of Peoria and Central Illinois Railroad (CIRY), specifically stated (at 3.4):

DOT [parent company of CIRY] shall assume responsibility for all maintenance of tracks, crossing protection, and roadbed including weed, brush, snow and ice control thereon, all drainage control maintenance, and all weed and brush control on the remainder of the right-of-way, following the guidelines set forth by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).

That contract didn’t expire until 60 days after the ciy completed the western spur. The western spur was just completed in March of this year, meaning the contract expired in May. Thus, CIRY (through its shell company Central Railgroup Construction Services) essentially admits that they broke their contract to keep the line maintained.

We already knew that CIRY broke their contract to provide service over the Kellar Branch by never delivering one shipment successfully over the line. The only time they even attempted it, they were so inept that they lost control of the train and endangered the lives of Peoria citizens.

And the City, which promised Carver Lumber they would take legal action against CIRY if they broke their contract, never so much as filed a complaint against CIRY. Never. Now, their continuous unverified cost estimates to repair the Kellar Branch is just the latest in a series of obfuscations and fabrications by the city to dupe the STB into killing the Kellar Branch, regardless of the money lost, assets destroyed, or businesses ruined.

Call your council members and demand they stop wasting our money and sell the Kellar Branch to Pioneer Railcorp.