WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has turned down an application from a company seeking to revive a long-dormant portion of the former Northwestern Pacific route in Northern California after the company missed a filing deadline.
The North Coast Railroad Co. was seeking to purchase 176 miles of rail line between Willits and Eureka, Calif., reportedly as part of a plan to export coal through Eureka’s Port of Humboldt Bay [see “Northern California legislators say plan would revive long-defunct line …,” Trains News Wire, Sept. 8, 2021]. The North Coast Railroad Authority, recently renamed the Great Redwood Trail Agency, is seeking to abandon the line to create a trail.
But North Coast Railroad Co.’s notice of intent, due May 31, was not filed until June 1, and the STB said in its Friday decision that it would reject the notice because the company “has not articulated a sufficient reason why its notice could not have been filed by the May 31 deadline, especially given that [the railroad company] has been an active participant in this proceeding … Moreover, NCRA objects to the late filing.”
The rejection renders moot questions about a North Coast financial filing with the STB. As reported by the Eureka Times-Standard, the filing showed the company’s balance with a credit union fluctuated from less than $100 to a high of $3,269.96, although the statement claimed a balance of $15.7 million. A representative of the credit union said the company was unable to verify the financial statement because of “several discrepancies.”
The STB decision also rejected a notice of intent from Seeker Enterprises to purchase 3 miles of the line for railbike activities, saying its filing did not comply with board requirements for financial information. Another notice of intent, from Mendocino Railway to purchase 13 miles of the line, was allowed to remain active despite the NCRA’s objections.
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