North Coast rail freight sidetracked

Judge's preliminary ruling calls for completed environmental study before
repairs are made

By STEVE HART
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT 1/8/08

In a tentative ruling that could stall North Bay freight service, a Marin
County judge on Monday said the North Coast Railroad Authority can't operate
trains until it expands its environmental study.

Superior Court Judge James Ritchie indicated he will grant the city of
Novato's request for a preliminary injunction against the railroad. The
ruling would halt further repair work on the southern end of the line.

"This could significantly delay the startup of freight," said Mike Arnold of
Marin Citizens for Effective Transportation, a group that opposes passenger
trains on the route.

Ritchie will hold a court hearing on the issue this morning, and he could
modify the decision.

Mitch Stogner, NCRA's executive director, said Monday he hadn't seen the
judge's tentative ruling.

Doug Bosco, an attorney for NWP Co., the private company that plans to
operate the trains, said it's too soon to say how the tentative ruling will
affect service. But he said it appears the judge wants NCRA to include
repairs in its environmental study.

"There's a lot at stake in this decision," he said.

The public rail authority wants to resume freight service on 62 miles of
track in Napa, Sonoma and Marin counties next July after it completes $50
million in repairs to the south end of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad.

Novato sued to halt the project, saying NCRA didn't consider environmental
impacts of reopening the entire 300-mile route between Napa and Eureka. NCRA
plans to eventually restore freight service to Eureka, but there's no
timeline for the project north of Willits.

Novato officials said the city is concerned about noise, emissions, traffic
congestion and public safety.

Monday's ruling did not examine the merits of plans to resume freight
service.

"The court has not reached any conclusion as to whether the proposed railway
is appropriate or not," Ritchie wrote in his ruling. "The court has
concluded that the pending environmental analysis should be conducted and
considered before more work is done."

NCRA is working on an environmental study of freight operations on the south
end of the line, but it won't be finished until later this year. Meanwhile,
it is proceeding with repairs to bridges, signal crossings and railbed on
the 62-mile stretch.

The judge's ruling would halt any railroad repair work that started after
Oct. 15, when Ritchie held an earlier hearing on the issue.

NCRA had argued it was exempt from the need for an environmental report on
repairs of existing track.

The judge ruled the agency appears to have violated state law by starting
repair work without finishing the required environmental review.

He also indicated the review must consider the entire project from Napa to
Eureka.

Freight service was halted in 2001 after federal railway regulators ruled
the route was unsafe. NCRA said the trains are needed to serve shippers and
reduce truck traffic on Highway 101.

You can reach Staff Writer Steve Hart at 521-5205 or
steve.hart@pressdemocrat.com .