GRANTSVILLE, Utah — Savage Tooele Railroad held a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday to celebrate the opening of the 11-mile short line, which revived a dormant Western Pacific branch line southwest of Salt Lake City.
“This new railroad is a major step forward for Utah’s economy,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said in a statement. “The Savage Tooele Railroad will open doors for Utah businesses, strengthen our supply chains, and create opportunities that will benefit our state for generations.”
The Surface Transportation Board gave the project a green light last year, allowing Savage to rebuild the 6-mile Warner Branch, restore a quarter mile of ripped-up track, and build 5 miles of new track in the 1,700-acre Lakeview Business Park.
“We know this is a much-needed link for the supply chain in northern Utah,” Savage CEO Jeff Roberts said. “Now that the Savage Tooele Railroad is operational, we’re excited to see it add value for our customers and support businesses in the area.”
The railroad, which is capable of handling industry-standard 286,000-pound gross loads, will serve the business park five days per week.
“This is a win-win as we work together to meet growing demand in Salt Lake City,” Kenny Rocker, Union Pacific’s executive vice president of marketing and sales, said in a statement. “Short-line partnerships like this one with Savage Tooele Railroad allow us to deliver innovative rail solutions that help our customers connect to our premier network and get to market faster.”
The short line connects with UP’s Shafter Subdivision via a 1.04-mile connecting track that reactivated the track last year.
BNSF Railway is seeking access to the Savage Tooele via its trackage rights over the Shafter Sub, which were granted as part of UP’s 1996 acquisition of Southern Pacific and include the right to interchange with any new short line connection.
BNSF has told the STB that the UP connecting track is an attempt to create a one-mile barrier between the Shafter Sub and the Savage Tooele Railroad, which would prevent BNSF from interchanging with the short line and reaching customers at the business park.
The STB rejected UP’s claim that the dispute should be settled through arbitration and said a board proceeding was the proper forum for “a dispute with potentially broad implications concerning conditions imposed in the UP/SP merger.”
Under a schedule set by the board, BNSF’s opening submission is due Sept. 25. UP’s reply is due by Oct. 27. BNSF’s rebuttal will be due by Nov. 24.
