Porterville City Councilmen question railroad plan

TULARE — A couple of Porterville City Councilmen are skeptical of the results of the first draft business plan meant to justify the revival of railroad in Tulare County.

The plan, developed by Railroad Industries Inc., was unveiled Wednesday during a special meeting of the Tulare County Association of Governments to give members an indication of the line’s marketability, as well as the current condition of the tracks and potential funding options to either purchase segments of the San Joaquin Valley Railroad, or the right of way, essentially the land beneath the tracks.

“Based on volume today and using per car revenue, this railroad actually makes money,” Gary Hunter, the chairman and CEO of Railroad Industries Inc., said. “There’s a lot of potential out here, but a lot of things would have to happen.”

Given the information Hunter provided, most of it promotional of the light rail, TCAG members said they will chug forward in their attempt to salvage the East Side Rail, which the draft business plan states will cost between $13 million and $39 million to rehabilitate. It’s the costs associated with bringing the tracks up to par, the ability to create jobs and turn a profit that worry at least two members of the Porterville City Council.

“This consultant was hired to make the project look as possible as possible,” Vice Mayor Cameron Hamilton said. “I got a real problem believing that with four users now that there is a built in profit of 15.7 percent, according to [the plan’s] figures.”

Greg Shelton put it more directly: “It’s a waste of money.”

The current owners of the railroad, which stretches 39 miles from Jovista north to Dinuba, also apparently haven’t found the line to be profitable. According to spokesman Dave Siegel, San Joaquin Valley Railroad acquired the railroad 19 years ago from Southern Pacific, which it said didn’t maintain the tracks, and as a result had few customers.

“Years of marketing efforts failed to turn this segment around,” he said.

But Hunter said his consulting firm believes that with a strong marketing drive, the line could prosper. The firm has reportedly surveyed 13 potential shippers who said they would use it if the rail were more reliable.

“We don’t want to be shortsighted. This county here, Tulare, has a lot of growth potential. The commodities that move here are very conducive to rail,” he said.

According to Hunter, train cars can only travel as fast as 10 mph and are subject to frequent stops and derailments as it has “suffered over $13 million in deferred maintenance.”

“The general consensus among shippers and TCAG is that they believe rail service was intentionally deteriorated by SJVR,” he said. “Rail transportation helps the county, the state, the country” in terms of fuel costs, air pollutants and highway safety, he said. “You’d be surprised how big the difference is when you talk about rail versus truck transportation.”

If the line were to be repaired and someday connected to major railroads such as Union Pacific along Highway 99 and then to ports in Northern California, rail enthusiasts like First District Supervisor Allen Ishida believe short-haul railroad could be a major component of economic development in Tulare County, and the Central Valley.

But it’s the poor conditions of the track and the infrequent use that reportedly compelled SJVR to file for abandonment — approved by the State Transportation Board last year.

Despite negotiations with TCAG to enter into a private-public partnership to revive the line, SJVR is set to remove the tracks by this winter. And, as a result, TCAG has pulled out of the 16-month long negotiations.

“As railroaders, abandonment and removal of track is the last thing we want. It is pursued only when the traffic on a line cannot support continued investment and the costs of normal service,” Siegel said.

TCAG must now look to other funding alternatives, which Hunter said could include partnering with Fresno County — where the line continues to the north— securing money from the Air District — which may find benefits in getting trucks off the roads thereby reducing air pollution — or lobbying lawmakers to appropriate state or federal dollars.

Additionally, TCAG has appropriated $3 million in voter-approved Measure R money to buy either the right of way or the actual fixtures, such as the railroad ties, ballast, tracks and signals.

Still, Shelton and Hamilton — and they’re undoubtedly not alone — question whether short haul rail can be successful in Tulare County without the rest of the Central Valley, or even on the state, on board. Although the state has big plans for high speed rail, there is no such scheme for light rail across California and thus no financial incentives such as grants.

Hamilton said he supports the purchase of the right of way, but not the tracks. He believes preserving the corridor would be a good investment in the future, when the rest of the Valley may be ready to jump aboard.

“I’m a proponent of keeping the right of way, but I’m not a proponent of keeping the line operating,” he said. “Right now, the business plan is strictly a draft. When there is an actual business plan attached to it and it shows what they’re trying to do, we can figure out if it actually makes sense.”

Contact Jenna Chandler at 784-5000, Ext. 1050, or jchandler@portervillerecorder.com.