An application to abandon the line was filed with the Surface Transportation Board (STB). The Port of Coos Bay spend a year fighting the abandonment. The STB finely ruled that they could buy the rail line. The sale was completed in 1Q2009.
Mark Jensen, President of Transport Environmental Systems, Inc., said, "We have been following the progress of the Port of Coos Bay since they presented at the American Railway Development Association Annual Meeting. They have marshalled the funding and resources to the tasks required to renovate their railroad. It is heartening to see them move the rehabilitation process along so that they can begin to satisfy their customer freight rail requirements."
The complexity of the project that the Port of Coos Bay managed is represented by the numbers:
* 3 Swing Bridges
* Siuslaw River
* Umpqua River
* Coos Bay Bridge
* 9 Tunnels
* 10 Other Bridges and Trestles
* ~140 Other Water Crossings
* 111 Miles - Eugene to Cordes
* 23 Miles - Cordes to Coquille
* 4 Miles - North Spit Rail Spur
* Track Structures - Repair/Replace
* 6 Miles - Rail and Switches
* 95,000 Mainline Ties
* 1,600 Yard Ties
* 600 Switch Ties
* 60,500 Tons Ballast
* Grade Crossings
* Sand Clearance
CBR operations will be extended from Cordes to Coos Bay and Coquille as track and the Coos Bay Bridge are renovated. Their goal is to support 286,000 lb rail cars at speeds from 25 MPH to 40 MPH in 2012.
About Coos Bay Rail Link: Headquartered in Coos Bay, OR, the Coos Bay Rail Link (CBR) is owned by the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay. CBR is a freight railroad linking the Coos Bay harbor with connections to the North American rail system at Eugene, OR. The rail line serves Coos County, western Douglas County and western Lane County Oregon, Rail interchange is with the Union Pacific Railroad, and other regional short-line rail operations.
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Transport Environmental Systems, Inc, of Morehead City, NC, founded in 1994, is a leading provider of environmental spill-containment systems for the railroads, truckers, shippers, Trans Environmental's patented Full Closeable Spill-Containment System supports both top and bottom loading and unloading of railroad tank cars. Its Haz-Hammock is an emergency response containment pouch that can be quickly attached to a leaking tanker truck or tank car providing mobility for the incident commander, reducing the impact to the surrounding community.
