WASHINGTON – Federal regulators have approved Savage Tooele Railroad’s proposal to build and operate 11 miles of trackage in Utah.
Savage Tooele aims to revive Union Pacific’s former 6-mile Warner Branch, restore a quarter mile of ripped-up track, and build 5 miles of new track in the Lakeview Business Park, which is being developed in Grantsville, southwest of Salt Lake City.
The Surface Transportation Board, in a decision issued on Monday, granted Savage Tooele’s request to build and operate the railroad, subject to the environmental mitigation measures recommended by the board’s final environmental analysis.
“Construction and operation of the Line will give shippers a new freight rail option, which will support business diversification within the Park and more competitive transportation rates,” the board said in its decision, which is effective on May 1.
The board said there would be no significant negative environmental impacts. “Indeed, the Line will facilitate the diversion of traffic from truck to rail, thereby increasing overall energy efficiency and reducing emissions from trucks,” the board said.
The folks against these rail projects just go bananas! BANANA: Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything. NIMBY on steroids!
What about the BNSF request to serve the branch?
For those who are interested on the history of the Warner Branch that actually dates from completion in 1917 (more than 100 years) one can go to Don Strack;s “Utah Rails Net” website and search the section “Western Pacific Utah Branches.” The information on the “Tooele/Warner Branch” and “The Warner Branch Removed” is found about half-way down the page.
It’s about friggin time… It should have never taken this long in the first place, the line has existed for over 75 years.
Now, lets “get off the pot” on the Uinta Basin Railway, that has been held up by activist judges who think they are legislators. Are these people going to stop all rail traffic because of “what if” scenarios? On that premise, lets all revert to the stone age and let nature wipe us off the face of the planet! Give up your cars trucks and SUV’s and all nice things we enjoy because the next big wipe out is right around the corner and only heaven knows that we don’t want to be the cause or a contributor of that no matter where it comes from. lol!
For you who may be interested in the history of the branch can go to Don Strack’s “Utah Rail Net” and search the section known as “Western Pacific Utah Branches.” The information on the Tooele/Warner Branch is about half-way down the page. There is also a follow on section about the removal of the Warner Branch after the WP was merged with the UP in 1982.
https://utahrails.net/wp/wp-in-ut-branches.php
” Are these people going to stop all rail traffic because of “what if” scenarios?”
In short: yes. Between that and “environmental concerns”….