Infrastructure: Coos Bay, Port Manatee

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Railway Age magazine has named the Coos Bay Rail Link (CBR) as the 2014 Short Line of the Year. The Obama administration's fiscal year 2015 budget request includes full federal funding for the first study phase of deepening the federal channel and harbor area of Port Manatee.

Coos Bay Port's Bay Rail Link Named 2014 Short Line of the Year

Railway Age magazine has named the Coos Bay Rail Link (CBR) as the 2014 Short Line of the Year. The magazine selected CBR for the award because of the short line's entrepreneurial spirit that has helped rail shippers in Coos, Lane and Douglas counties become more efficient and competitive, and grow their operations.

"Backed by new owner Oregon International Port of Coos Bay, Coos Bay Rail Link has overcome negative media coverage and a skeptical public to show it means business – literally," said Railway Age Managing Editor Douglas John Bowen."A range of stakeholders, including customers old and new and communities along the line, voiced their support for freight rail operations to continue – and, it turns out, to grow substantially as well."

The previous owner, a private hedge fund company, halted service on the 134-mile rail line in September 2007. Within two years, the port bought the line and started rehabilitation. It soon contracted with a rail operator; CBR re-opened the line in October 2011. Since that first month, CBR has gone from 20 carloads and two customers to a record 636 cars and 13 customers in January 2014.

The port has relied heavily on the assistance of private and public partners, including Oregon's congressional delegation, to purchase the rail line and invest more than $31 million into its rehabilitation.

"Rather than giving up and succumbing to economic nightmare, this community made a decision to dream big, fight for our future and to take on the daunting task of resurrecting a railroad," said Port CEO David Koch. "Today, we are both humbled and honored by Coos Bay Rail Link's selection as Railway Age's 2014 Short Line of the Year. The success we have achieved on this railroad is a testament to the power of collaboration and what we can achieve when we pull together for a common goal."

The award will be presented at the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association's annual meeting, April 25 in San Diego.

Port Manatee Harbor Deepening Study Slated for Funding in Obama Budget

The Obama administration's budget request for fiscal year 2015 includes full federal funding for the first study phase of deepening the federal channel and harbor area of Port Manatee.

"Reaching our target harbor depth of 45 feet should enable us to accommodate the majority of vessels transiting the expanded Panama Canal," said Dave Sanford, Port Manatee's deputy executive director.

Sanford served in several senior executive capacities with the Corps of Engineers and as director of navigation policy and legislation at the American Association of Port Authorities prior to joining Port Manatee's executive staff in August 2013.

The timetable for harbor projects that undergo study during the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2014, call for completion of deepening after the scheduled 2015 opening of the expanded Panama Canal. Nevertheless, Port Manatee believes the port and its users stand to reap "significant benefits" from a deeper harbor for decades to come.

The Obama administration's budget proposal for fiscal 2015 includes $100,000 for the reconnaissance study for deepening Manatee Harbor, which presently has a 40-foot depth. The funding would be sufficient to pay for the study entirely with federal dollars, without local expense.