I just received a copy of this e-mail from City Manager Randy Oliver this morning:

Dear Mayor and Council:

We just received a call that both Pioneer and Central Illinois Rail were attempting to access the Kellar Branch line this morning. One of the Rail Carriers wants the other [arrested] for trespass. We advised the Officer responding that neither Carrier had authority to operate from the City of Peoria, however, both derived any authority from the Surface Transportation Board (STB). Consequently, neither should be charged with trespass and the STB would need to resolve the issue.

We just wanted you to be aware of the situation.

Randy

Meanwhile, Central Illinois Railroad has filed a petition with the Surface Transportation Board to hold their previous decision in abeyance “so that the parties can resolve issues relating to the rehabilitation of a deteriorated and out of service rail line and Peoria can determine which carrier should operate over its railroad line.” The city’s railroad attorney thinks this petition has no chance of being granted. Pioneer is expected to respond on Friday.

In other Kellar Branch news, the Village of Peoria Heights passed the resolution that the City of Peoria recently tabled. They are also asking for $79,200 a year in rent according to the Journal Star.

UPDATE: Pioneer Railcorp president Mike Carr has written to the City Manager to explain the confrontation that happened today on the Kellar Branch:

Dear Randy:

My apologies for getting you involved in a situation outside of your normal work responsibility. I would like to explain to you what happened as follows:

As you know, it is our position that the STB has told us we can operate the line, and also directed both parties to work out an operating agreement. It is our position, that each company has equal rights to operate the line. I have tried, without success, since the STB ruling, to talk with Jack Stolarczyk about allowing us to inspect the line via hi rail. Stoalrczyk has ignored all of my calls. On the advice of our STB attorney in Washington DC that we have an equal right to occupy the railroad while we are working out an operating agreement, we took the necessary and required Federal Railroad Administration safety procedures, to afford protection to both our employees and CRY employees, and started our inspection this morning, via hi rail truck, starting on Adams street.

Apparently, Stolarczyk was planning to hi rail the line at the same time (?) with someone from the Park District (? according to the police) starting at Pioneer Park. Upon his arrival at Pioneer Park, he encountered our employee who was providing flag man protection to our employee hi railing the line. Stolarczyk went ballistic and called the police, even though I was able to get a cell phone handed to him and I tried to explain to him it is not a police issue (at this point I was in my car headed to the office). After Stolarczyk unceremoniously hung up on me, he committed a serious and flagrant FRA safety violation by ignoring our flag man, who told Stolarczyk that our employees were headed that way hi railing the railroad, and Stolarczyk proceeded to “charge” down the rail line with the intention of “meeting” our employee. This is a complete disregard for personal safety, and in my opinion speaks volume of Mr. Stolarczyk’s character. I hope I am mistaken with the fact that he had a Park District employee in the hi rail truck with him, because if there was a park district employee with him, Stolarczyk placed him in potential serious harm and had no regard for the Park Districts employees safety or well being. I instructed our employees to stop hi railing at the nearest crossing and to be prepared to leave the line upon visually seeing Stolarczyk headed towards them. When Stolarczyk approached, in violation of FRA regulations, we ceded the line out of respect for safety.

We intend to bring this issue up with the FRA.

Finally, I want to assure you that I had no idea that Stolarczyk had planned to inspect the line with the Park District this morning or we would have performed our inspection at a later time. Taken the wrong way, I can see where someone can turn this into Pioneer was obstructing CRY’s attempt to reach a deal for shared usage. It was purely coincidence, and you can strap me to a lie detector test if you like.

If you have any further concerns or questions please feel free to contact me via phone […].

Thanks.
Mike Carr

Trail advocates — especially the Journal Star — love to throw out this figure: $29 million. That’s how much moolah it will take, they say, to build a trail next to the Kellar Branch rail line. Thus, it’s too expensive. Thus, we must pull up the rail line.

I wanted to find out how that figure was derived, so I called the Park District. Originally, I was told that all they had were engineering drawings; I asked how they came up with the estimated cost and was told there was “a spreadsheet floating around somewhere” but they didn’t know where it was. Later, when I relayed this story at an RTA meeting at which Bonnie Noble was in attendance, they changed their tune and told me they would get the information right out to me. Here it is:

C. J.:

I have attached the two estimates for your information. The side by side estimate is a square foot estimate based on topographical and sectional survey data and the on-track estimate is a takeoff from prepared construction plans; using cost data from previous jobs, local data and published data; taking into account labor, material, equipment, general conditions, etc. and using prerequisite standards and requirements of ADA, AASHTO (www.transportation.org), regulatory, insurance (liability) and numerous others.

Under the requirements of the ISTEA grant the PPD received, we must build a Class 1 Trail which is a bike path separated from highways by a greenway. If we deviate from a Class 1 Trail, we do not get a dime from the grant. Another consideration is the proposed trail is a combined or mixed-mode trail with both pedestrians and bicycles. The standards for a combined trail require a 10’ wide path with double 2’ shoulders for safety considerations (14’ total width). The completed portions of the trail meet these standards.

David Wheeler
Peoria Park District

And here are the two documents that were attached:

Bike Trail Side-by-Side with Rail
Pimiteoui Trail on Trackline Cost

I received these in March. I want you to take a look at them and tell me what you think. Especially if you’re a city council member, ask yourself if you would accept these estimates from your own city staff members or a hired consultant. Would you believe these numbers based on the information Mr. Wheeler provided?

Look at them and tell me who did these estimates. What materials are being used? How did they come up with the material cost and labor estimates? What is the corridor they chose for this estimate — that is, what is the exact path? Were any attempts made to mitigate the cost by choosing an alternate path, or different materials, or different methods? What is the exact location of all these trestles that are listed? Can they all be justified?

Now that the council is looking to bring all parties together to look for a win-win solution, I would suggest the first step is to do a real feasibility study. Hire an independent engineering firm, provide them with the necessary AASHTO standards and all that, and ask him to come up with the most cost-effective method of achieving a shared rail/trail corridor. Then let’s see what the real cost is. I bet it will be considerably less than $29 million.

After the council voted to table the Kellar Branch resolution at tonight’s meeting, I talked to Mike Carr, President of Pioneer Railcorp. I found out that Central Illinois Railroad (CIRY) has been unresponsive to Pioneer’s numerous attempts to contact them and work out an operating arrangement.

In its recent decision to let Pioneer back on the Kellar Branch, the Surface Transportation Board directed the two rail carriers “to negotiate joint operating protocols.” In other words, work together in operating the line.

Carr told me that CIRY’s lawyer said they won’t let Pioneer on the line until Pioneer has an operating contract with the city. The funny thing is, CIRY doesn’t have an agreement with the city either. So that’s a rather hypocritical stance to take. And Pioneer has long argued that their operating agreement with Peoria is still in force, although the city maintains that it expired on its own terms in 2004.

However, there’s nothing that says Pioneer has to get CIRY’s permission to service the line; the STB’s decision gives Pioneer immediate access. Since CIRY isn’t servicing anyone to the north anyway, perhaps “negotiat[ing] joint protocols” is unnecessary.

HOI News is reporting that Globe Energy would like to use the Kellar Branch:

Over at Globe Energy they want to build the rail spurs into their building. They say it’s not about shipping costs. It’s more about the environment. David Jones with Globe Energy said, “There is a chance over the next five years we could save about 50,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions that would come through trucks on the road that could be avoided if we used rail.”

Jones also said the Kellar Branch would be critical to exporting their heating systems to foreign countries by rail, although this isn’t a deal breaker for the company. “We are trying to put forward to industry that we are prepared to do it, provided that it can be done,” Jones said. If it can’t be done, then we will have to use trucks.”

So a vote for removing the rail line is a vote for 50,000 extra tons of CO₂ emissions. I think air quality and not contributing to global warming is part of that “quality of life” stuff trail proponents are always talking about, don’t you?