June 16,
2006
Website:
www.puc.idaho.gov
Commission won’t object to
rail abandonment
The Idaho
Public Utilities Commission has determined that BNSF Railway’s proposal to
abandon a 2.12-mile stretch of railroad in downtown Coeur d’Alene will not
adversely affect the area. Consequently, the commission will not oppose the
railroad’s petition now before the federal Surface Transportation Board to
abandon the rail line.
BNSF Railway
is asking the Surface Transportation Board to expedite its approval to abandon
the railroad right-of-way that once served the Potlatch Mill location that is
now The Coeur d’Alene Resort.
To be eligible
for a waiver from a longer abandonment process, the railroad must certify that
no rail traffic has moved on the line for the past two years and there are no
outstanding complaints about the lack of rail service.
Federal law
requires the Idaho PUC to conduct a public hearing on the abandonment to
determine if the abandonment 1) adversely affects the area being served, 2)
impairs the access of Idaho shippers to vital goods and markets, and 3) whether
the rail line has the potential for profitability. The commission conducted
that hearing on June 14. No one intervened in the case and no one testified
against the abandonment. Commissioners said the entire track in the affected
right-of-way had long ago been removed.
The section of
right-of-way generally runs from Coeur d’Alene City Park adjacent to Northwest
Boulevard, across the front of The Coeur d’Alene Resort, down East Front
Avenue, following East Mullan Avenue and terminating at the resort.
The Surface
Transportation Board will make the final abandonment decision.