Somebody tell Bonnie Noble to put her sledgehammer away — the demolition of the Kellar Branch has been delayed.

The Surface Transportation Board today decided to stay the effective date of their decision to discontinue service on the Kellar Branch. The Board stated:

The Board’s decision granting CIRY’s petition for exemption was premised on the fact that the existing shippers on this segment of rail line would receive rail service in the future via a new western connection to the Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) or by some other arrangement . . . . In its letters, Carver Lumber expresses concern about allowing CIRY’s discontinuance authority to go into effect because the western connection has not yet been completed. Carver Lumber also raises several issues regarding the western connection to UP that call into question the availability and practicability of that alternative when it is completed. Until these issues are resolved, it would be inappropriate to allow this discontinuance to become effective.

A stay of the effective date of the exemption is appropriate to allow time for the parties to provide additional information and for the Board to consider the issues presented in Carver Lumber’s filing. Accordingly, the exemption will be stayed pending further order of the Board. In the interim, CIRY and the City are directed to keep the Board informed of their progress in addressing and resolving the issues raised by Carver Lumber.

This Board’s decision was originally set to take effect January 22. That date has now been postponed indefinitely.