Scene from Journal Star editing room, upon hearing latest Kellar Branch news
Daily Archives: December 6, 2006
CIRY move catches city by surprise; Pioneer offer still on table
I e-mailed City Counsel Randy Ray about the surprising move by Central Illinois Railroad Company yesterday. I wanted to know what the City’s response was, and he had this to say:
We will be happy to share the City’s position with you after it is developed and after the City Council has had an opportunity to consider it. We’ll be happy to share any STB filings.
So, it’s pretty clear that city staff and the council did not see this coming. Pioneer, whom I mentioned would still be interested in running the Kellar Branch instead of CIRY, also wrote the city today: “PIRY’s [Pioneer Railcorp’s] offer to buy and share the ROW [railroad right-of-way] is still open. Does the City want to talk?”
If the City and the Park District really want a trail, they will do what they should have done in the first place — take Pioneer up on their offer. The Park District will get assistance in building a trail side-by-side with the rail line, and the City will get a cool half-million dollars to help them with their new budget. Oh, and the City will also get competent rail service on the Kellar Branch and no more runaway trains.
I’ve e-mailed the Park District to hear their take on the news, but it caught them by surprise as well, so they’ll need a little time to develop a statement. I’ll let you know what it is as soon as I hear.
One last note: David P. Jordan has posted over on Billy Dennis’s blog that another potential rail user in Pioneer Park is “possibly the paper bag manufacturer that is interested in buying the Peoria Plastics building.” I hadn’t heard of that one — it’s not the one I said I couldn’t disclose. So that means there are potentially three more rail users in addition to Carver Lumber and O’Brien Steel. Total potential: 5 businesses.
UPDATE: Here is the response I received from Bonnie Noble, Peoria Park District Director: “Thanks for your inquiry and interest. Randy Oliver and I have been in contact about CIRY’s new request. We are in communication with a number of people to work through all of this so that we all can be winners. When I have something definitive, I or Dave Wheeler will be back to you.”
BREAKING NEWS: CIRY mutinies, fires city attorney, withdraws request to close Kellar Branch
Is the Kellar Branch saved? It might be. Efforts to try to convert it to a bike trail have been dealt a serious blow.
Central Illinois Railroad Co. (CIRY), the City of Peoria’s operator for the Kellar Branch and western spur, has cooperated with the City since 2005 in seeking to close down the Kellar Branch so it could be turned into a hiking trail through town.
In a stunning reversal, CIRY at 4 p.m. Tuesday, December 5, filed with the Surface Transportation Board to withdraw its discontinuance request (i.e., its request to discontinue service over the Kellar Branch). Furthermore, whereas the City and CIRY had been using the same attorney (Thomas F. McFarland), the latest filing informs the STB that CIRY has a new attorney (John Heffner, Washington, DC) representing them.
Why the reversal? The filing states that CIRY “now wishes to withdraw the above-captioned discontinuance petition in view of new business opportunities on the line” (emphasis mine).
That’s right, there are at least two new businesses locating along the Kellar Branch that may be interested in having rail service. Along with Carver Lumber, that brings the total to three, and no doubt more businesses will locate on the line if the threat of closure is removed.
One of the potential new businesses is Globe Energy which recently purchased the building at 1610 Altorfer Drive. They provide large building energy efficiency equipment and service for Caterpillar and others. The other potential new business I’m not at liberty to divulge at this time.
However, CIRY further states, “Accordingly, CIRY will continue to provide service over this line as if it had never filed any discontinuance request.” That will be a problem. First, it could be argued that their contract with the City to serve the Kellar Branch expired when the western spur began operations. Second, even if they could prove their old contract was still in force, they would be in breach of it (again) — this time for not cooperating with the city to close the Kellar Branch. And third, the last time they tried to take a shipment up the Kellar Branch they had a runaway train, and that has made the City leery of their performance, though not leery enough to take any legal action against them to date.
What will happen next? Will the City sue CIRY for breach of contract? If so, it will be a first. They didn’t sue CIRY when they endangered the lives of Peorians with their runaway train. They didn’t sue CIRY when they didn’t provide rail service to Carver Lumber, even though they were in breach of contract then. It sure would be a slap in the face to residents and businesses if the only time they sued CIRY was when they actually wanted to start serving Carver Lumber, et. al., safely via the most cost effective route.
Will the City file an adverse continuance with the STB to throw CIRY off the Kellar Branch like they did with Pioneer and try to find yet another carrier that will cooperate with their ill-advised and increasingly futile attempts to turn the Kellar into a hiking trail?
Or will the City finally come to its senses and put an end to this nonsense once and for all and forget trying to convert this line to a trail?
Of course Pioneer Railcorp will continue its fight to be the carrier on the Kellar Branch.
Stay tuned for more twists and turns!