Future of rail service in region under debate

Frustrations about the current state of the railroad tracks running through Abbotsford generated some tough questions about the future of rail service in the area during a discussion last week about updating the city’s comprehensive plan.

“They’re never going to run another car through here,” said Mayor Jim Weix during a Jan. 27 meeting of the Abbotsford Planning Commission, which included a two-hour discussion on revising the city’s 20-year old comprehensive plan.

Weix noted that it’s been years since any trains have used the line from Medford to Spencer, and the tracks have been allowed to fall into disrepair.

“There’s eight inches of gravel over the tracks on Willow Road,” he said.

Paul Erikson, a member of the city’s planning commission, said he’s heard that the current owner of the tracks, Watco Companies, plans on shutting the line down since no businesses are willing to pay for service.

It was noted that several businesses have moved out the area due to the lack of reliable rail service, including the feed mill formerly owned by River Country Co-op in Dorchester and Packaging Corporation of America, which abandoned its former building in Colby and declined an offer to relocate in Abbotsford because better rail service was available in Marshfield.

Ald. Mason Rachu, chair of the planning commission, noted that no local businesses currently depend on rail service. Still, Jenny Jakel, a member of the AbbyColby Crossings Chamber of Commerce, wondered if there was still some potential for the tracks to be used in the future.

Years ago, when talks of revitalizing the rail came up, Jakel said she drove from Medford and Spencer and counted 14 businesses along the route that could possibly make use of rail service. However, she said the rail service needs to be reliable, and that has not been the case in recent years.

Sheila Nyberg, executive director of the Clark County Economic Development Corporation and Tourism Bureau, said the prospect of revitalizing the Medford-to-Spencer line is “not totally disappearing,” especially when it comes to short line services.

“There are operators out there who think we’ve got something here,” she said. “That sounds promising, whether you had a shipping yard on the north side of town or a transloading area, that sort of thing.”

Nyberg said Clark County is a member of the Northwoods Rail Transit Commission, whose mission is to “sustain and enhance safe, reliable and efficient rail service critical to the businesses, communities and economies in northern Wisconsin.”

Unfortunately, she said Watco has been “non-responsive” to requests for more maintenance and service, so attorneys have gotten involved to try and get Watco to take action or sell its assets in northern Wisconsin. The ultimate goal is “to control the destiny of the 27.5 miles” from Medford to Spencer with the help of short line operators, she said.

Nyberg said at least one company has expressed interest in using the rail line, and a couple of short line operators have said they may want to take over management of the corridor.

“There are interesting conversations because it was such an active line at one time,” she said.

An alternative option would be to pursue a “rails to trails” conversion similar to the one that created the Pine Line Trail, a 26.2-mile multi-use trail from Medford to southern Price County.

Mayor Weix said he’s had several people ask him about doing something similar with the rail corridor running through the Abbotsford area.

“I think that would be more beneficial than having the tracks just sit there and never being used,” he said.

Nyberg, however, said that effort would likely face opposition from businesses along the route.

“They’ve said over their dead body will somebody be biking past their company,” she said. “So, we’ve got some issues there.”

Jakel also noted that it would likely take “someone with real deep pockets” to pay for the rail-to-rail transition, especially if no grant money is available. She said it may ultimately be up to local leaders to make something happen.

“If we don’t do anything, it’s just going to sit there and rust,” she said.

According to Watco’s website, the Medford-to-Spencer line is part of what’s called the Fox Valley & Lake Superior Rail System (FOXY), but it is the only one listed as “inactive.”