The City Council has decided to explore their options regarding the Kellar Branch.
You may remember that the Surface Transportation Board (STB) recently ruled, in effect, that the Kellar Branch is to remain an operational rail line and reopened the question of whether Pioneer Industrial Railway or Central Illinois Railroad (CIRY) should be the carrier. Councilman Sandberg recognizes that if the STB, a federal agency, decides who the carrier should be on the Kellar Branch, then the city’s hands will be tied. Thus, he would like to see the city be proactive and come up with a strategy on how to proceed. After making a motion to that effect, the council passed it unanimously.
The city does not have many options, as I see it. Here’s what they can do:
- Keep trying to discontinue service on the line. This is what the Sierra Club and the Recreational Trails Advocates would like, if Joyce Blumenshine’s remarks to the council are any guage of their thinking. It would require the city to hire another carrier (besides Pioneer or CIRY), get STB approval of that carrier, then have that carrier file for discontinuance on the line and go through the same fight with Carver Lumber again. Estimated time: 1-2 years at least. Probability of success: Nil.
- Make a deal with Pioneer. Pioneer has offered to buy the line or accept a long-term lease to provide service. In return, they have also offered to do a number of other positive things, including an offer to help build a trail concurrent with the rail right-of-way with up to $100,000 of in-kind service. Estimated time: immediate. Probability of success: Excellent.
- Wait for STB to act. This would mean just leaving everything status quo until the STB rules on who should be allowed to service the line, at which point the council will lose all bargaining power and will get neither the carrier of their choice nor a recreational trail. Estimated time: 3-6 months. Probability of success: Non-existent.
I can’t see any other possibilities, but there may be some other permutations of the ones I’ve listed.
It’s interesting to note the rhetoric put forth in discussion on this item. Fifth district councilman Patrick Nichting mentioned that council members recently took a ride on the Kellar Branch line (within the past few weeks) and derailed along the way. From the conversation, it sounded like CIRY was providing the ride. Nichting also noted the thick vegetation overgrowth and asked CIRY how long it had been this way; they answered, “long before we got here.” The clear implication was that Pioneer had not adequately cared for the line when they were operating it.
Yet Pioneer was able to successfully run trains up the Kellar Branch without incident the entire time they were servicing Carver Lumber and other shippers along the line. It was CIRY who had a runaway train that endangered the lives of Peorians and never provided service. It was CIRY who stopped maintaining the tracks. And it’s CIRY who withdrew their petition to discontinue service because they wanted to start operating the line themselves. If the track were really in such irreparable condition, why would they take such an action? If the western spur were sufficient, why did they withdraw their petition?
Nichting also brought up the tired old excuse that there are portions of the right-of-way that aren’t wide enough for the rail and trail to run concurrently “without adding bridges.” This is the Park District’s logic that Nichting is parroting. There are ways to hurdle these types of obstacles if anyone would be willing to compromise. One obvious idea is to simply work around those areas by running the trail out to the side of the street. It wouldn’t have to be an on-street bike route; the trail could run along the city’s easement parallel to the street, thus still allowing the park district to meet the requirements for their grant money. It would be no different than what East Peoria did with their trail to avoid the trailer park along route 150.
Councilman Morris brought up the council’s history of supporting a recreational trail through town. Yes, historically that has been true. But times have changed. The STB has ruled. They’re not going to allow the line to be turned into a recreational trail. It’s time to compromise.
City Manager Randy Oliver offered to bring back options to the council at the February 13 council meeting. It will be interesting to see what transpires between now and then.
Update: The Journal Star has filed its report. Elaine Hopkins was a little confused when she wrote this statement:
Pioneer’s successor, Central Illinois Railroad Company, has withdrawn its petition to discontinue service over the line, with the board granting the withdrawal. That withdrawal is another necessary step in trail development.
No, the petition was a necessary step in trail development. The withdrawal of that petition was a death knell for trail development.
There’s a lot of hopeful talk and disinformation coming from trail enthusiasts. On WMBD-AM 1470 this morning, they just wrote off Pioneer’s quote to repair the rail line, claiming that it would cost $10-20 million to fix it up and saying the city can’t afford it. The truth is, far from having to spend millions of dollars, the city could gain over a half-million dollars by selling the line to Pioneer; their offer to purchase the line and grant a 999-year lease to the Park District to share the right-of-way for a trail still stands. The city can have both and make money in the process if they stop listening to the uninformed, tunnel-vision trail enthusiasts.
As if we didn’t see this one coming, Barack Obama officially announced on his website that he’s taking the first step toward a presidential run in 2008. The first step is to create a “presidential exploratory committee.” He says he’s not making this decision based on “media hype or personal ambition alone,” but rather because he thinks we need “a change in our politics.” 
