California State Rail Plan 2005-06 to 2015-16

2005-06 – 2015-16 California State Rail Plan
CALIFORNIA TRAFFIC CONGESTION RELIEF PROGRAM
The Traffic Congestion Relief Program (TCRP) was enacted by the California
Legislature in June 2000. TCRP included $60 million for improvements to the
Northwestern Pacific Railroad, as part of the effort to reduce truck congestion by
allowing bulk shipments and lumber products to return to the rails. The TCRP
provided $39.4 million for track upgrades and long-term stabilization projects,
$4.1 million for environmental work, $15.5 million for debt repayment, and
$1.0 million for administrative costs for the North Coast Rail Authority (NCRA).
In addition, TCRP provided $150 million to the San Gabriel Valley Council of
Governments to build grade separations along the Alameda Corridor East in
Los Angeles County. The Cross Valley Rail Corridor Joint Powers Agency, made
up of representatives of the cities of Huron, Lemoore, and Visalia received
$4 million in TCRP funds to improve the rail infrastructure along the San Joaquin
Valley Railroad Huron Line in Fresno, Kings, and Tulare Counties.
The TCRP projects that received funding allocations are going forward including
$19.2 million for NCRA, $61.5 for Alameda Corridor East, and $4 million for the
San Joaquin Valley Railroad Huron Line.
NORTHWESTERN PACIFIC RAILROAD
The Northwestern Pacific Railroad (NWP) provides a link between the
North Coast and the San Francisco Bay Area. Construction through the rugged
Eel River Canyon was completed in 1914, thus allowing for the movement of
people and goods between Eureka and Tiburon/Sausalito with ferry connections to
San Francisco. The NWP was originally jointly owned by ATSF and SP. In 1929,
the ATSF sold their interest in the NWP to the SP.
By 1980, SP had applied to the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to
abandon the NWP between Willits and Eureka. During 1983 ICC public hearings,
numerous parties were opposed to the abandonment and the ICC denied SP’s
request. In 1984, SP sold the 172-mile section of the NWP from Willits to Eureka
to a short line railroad operator who formed the Eureka Southern Railroad
(EUKA). Undercapitalized and saddled with huge monthly loan payments, EUKA
filed for bankruptcy in late 1986. A Federal Bankruptcy Court determined the loss
of the line would have a crucial impact on the North Coast economy and ruled that
a trustee should be appointed to continue operating the railroad.
In 1989, the NCRA was created by the State Legislature to preserve and maintain
a transportation corridor along the North Coast Region. The NCRA is a local
agency made up of members from Humboldt, Mendocino, and Sonoma Counties.
On April 1, 1992, the NCRA purchased the EUKA out of bankruptcy and renamed
the Eureka to Willits line, the North Coast Railroad.
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