The Humboldt Beacon
By Rhett Stephens
Humboldt County has not heard the clacking of wheels running over
track, nor heard the telltale whistle of a train, in nearly four
years.
In February of 1998, the higher powers stopped the railroad: El
Nino storms closed the northern end of the route; then the Federal
Railroad Authority closed the southern end. In subsequent years,
faltering starts have been made to try to re-establish service
from the Napa Valley to the Samoa Peninsula. The tracks still
remain silent, but attempts are ongoing to revive the railroad.
Max Bridges, executive director of the North Coast Railroad
Authority (NCRA) said that the NCRA is firm in its intention to
re-establish the entire line, linking the counties and allowing
rail transport of materials from Humboldt Bay to the wine valley.
The state is behind the undertaking, and has earmarked $60 million
to aid in the re-establishment of the line.
Bridges said that to date, NCRA has received $16.5 million from
California. He said that of that money, $10 million was used to
pay previous debts. Although even that is not enough to cover the
entire amount owed, it pays for a very substantial portion.
Bridges said that $5.5 million is being used to repay a federal
loan, and that $400,000 is going toward administration costs.
This leaves $600,000 for the physical amendments required to
reopen the line. Bridges said that currently the track is being
cleaned up to make it operational again. "Contractors are
currently working on repairs between Windsor and Willits," he
said. They are cleaning up damaged sections of the line and
replacing railroad ties where necessary.
The portion of track between Windsor and Willits is expected to be
the first to reopen. Bridges said that he expects that track to be
repaired by the end of the year. However, this alone does not
constitute a functioning rail line. Bridges said that currently
NCRA has no operator to run the trains. NCRA had contracted with
Northwestern Pacific Railway Company to run the line, and it
looked as if things were beginning to move. Trains were running
between Napa and Penngrove until September of this year. However,
funding was running short and holding up operations. NCRA and
Northwestern attempted to take interim measures to maintain
progress on the line, but financial disputes between the two
entities resulted in a termination of the partnership.
NCRA is looking for a new operator. "We've talked with
neighboring railroads," Bridges said, "and we will
eventually put out invitations
for proposals." However, he explained that contracting with
operators is largely contingent upon the opening of the line to
Eureka, because connecting Humboldt Bay to the southern counties
creates the potential for lucrative freight shipment between the
two areas. So, operators want to know when the entire line will be
functional before they sign on.
Bridges said that serious construction work will be required in
order to establish service to Eureka. He said that NCRA is working
with environmental and engineering consultants to ascertain
precisely what needs to be done in order to make the line
functional again.
In the past, the railroad has met with resistance from certain
environmental groups concerned with the impact of the
re-establishment of the line, particularly through the middle fork
of Eel River Canyon. Bridges, however, contends that the
re-establishment of rail service would prove to be a boon to the
environment. "It's consistent with a Green perspective,"
he said. He said that using trains to ship freight would result in
less emissions and less traffic on the roads.
Bridges acknowledged that in the past, the rail industry has
engaged in some construction practices that were environmentally
detrimental.
However, he said that new standards and new methods are in place
now that are much more eco-friendly. He said that in the past,
railroad materials were often simply dumped over banks. This is no
longer the modus operandi. "We would be operating with
minimized environmental impact," he said.
Bridges was reluctant to speculate regarding the length of time it
will take to reopen the entire line. He said that it is a long and
complicated process. "It will certainly be more than a year
before the whole line is open," he said.
