Scott Swanson
The Albany and Eastern Railroad Company released a statement last week on its website regarding railroad crossings to the effect that it is standard practice to charge fees to neighbors using private railroad crossings as a way to cover the cost of maintaining such crossings.
Property owners along the Albany & Eastern Railroad line between Lebanon and Sweet Home are upset over a letter many received earlier this month from the company, threatening to close the crossings from Highway 20 to their homes unless they pay fees to use the crossings.
The letter, from Jared G. Cornell, director of sales and marketing for Albany & Eastern, informs owners that they need to have $1 million in insurance coverage and pay $720, which includes an annual “maintenance fee” of $120, to maintain their railroad crossings.
In its statement, released last week, the Albany and Eastern Railroad Company described its rail system.
The AERC owns and operates the 17-mile freight railroad line between Lebanon and Sweet Home Oregon. The railroad “right-of-way” – the real estate beneath and adjacent to the track and structure upon which the railroad operates – was owned by the Fort Worth, Texas-based Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF) until recently, when it was acquired by the AERC, which operated the line for some time prior to the property acquisition under a lease agreement with the BNSF.
“The issue of private railroad crossings is one of great concern to railroad operators and regulators industry-wide,” Cornell said in the statement.
“This is because of the significant risk exposure each crossing poses by creating a point where the railroad intersects with the public. Trends in transportation planning practices discourage at-grade crossings, seeking instead grade separation in an effort to avoid this exposure to protect both public safety and the railroad’s business interests.
“Railroad operators are required by their regulators at a state and federal level to document and report and maintain all crossings along their rights-of-way, including the signals, approaches, and surfaces of the crossings.”
According to the statement, industry practices for railroads to accomplish this, comply with regulations and recover a portion of the high cost involved in these activities may include:
n Requiring property owners to carry specific liability limits on their insurance policies as well as name the railroad as an additional interest on their policies, and to indemnify the railroad in the event of a loss;
n Obtain a crossing permit from the railroad operator;
n Payment of maintenance fees.
While the AERC cannot speak to the practices of prior owners of the railroad right-of-way or other railroad operators in the region, it has adopted policies to address the issues related to railroad crossings along its right-of-way that it believes adequately address these concerns, the statement said.
“Additionally, the AERC has offered to make financial arrangements with property owners such that costs related to obtaining crossing permits and payment of maintenance fees can be paid over time,” Cornell said in the statement. “We encourage interested and affected parties to research this issue through reliable sources of information, such as railroad regulatory agencies at the state and federal level, in order to understand this matter in its proper context.
“The AERC is committed to the revitalization and safe operation of the 77-mile railroad upon which we operate and providing excellent transportation service to the industries in our communities. Our goal is to contribute to the economic competitiveness of Linn County businesses and industry, to boost the traded sector, and to grow manufacturing and traded sector, family-wage employment.”
The New Era contacted Cornell to find out more about the charges, how they were set.
“We’re not going to talk any more about it,” Cornell replied. “That serves as our statement right there. It’s just gotten out of hand — pretty ridiculous.”
The Oregon Department of Transportation’s Rail Division and the Federal Railroad Administration are state and federal agencies that primarily govern railroad issues and operations.
For more information, visit http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/RAIL/Pages/index.aspx and http://www.fra.dot.gov.