Elise Hamner, City Editor

It’s blackmail, Sen. Joanne Verger told them.

The Coos Bay Democrat likened RailAmerica’s actions surrounding the closure of the Central Oregon & Pacific rail line to the Mafia.

They want the railroad re-opened, too, Verger said. But not unless the state subsidizes it. Not unless local shippers, the state and port — the taxpayers — finance the lion’s share of $23 million in repairs.

And so went the discussion at the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce Forestry and Fisheries Committee on Friday in Coos Bay.

“There has been little regard, little regard ... for the serious impact to our local communities,” Verger said.

Any timber industry worker who came to the room hoping to hear state lawmakers have a solution left disappointed. Exactly three months to the day CORP filed its embargo to close the line, there was no answer.

About 35 people listened while Verger read a speech about the crisis of the railroad. The 24-hour notice the rail line would close was unbelievable, she said. It was a financial slam to four of the region’s major businesses.

Railroad-reliant American Bridge had been considering expansion at its Reedsport facility, when the railroad pulled out of town. Southport Lumber, the state, port and federal government invested mightily in a North Spit spur and the rail bridge. They were anticipating a longtime rail relationship.

Prior to RailAmerica’s buyout, CORP was applying for a $40 million federal grant to rehab the Coos Bay line, state Rep. Arnie Roblan told the group. RailAmerica stepped in and demurred. Managers said they could finance the repairs in-house.

They closed the line.

“It frustrates me when you know how many people in this area did what they could to help them,” Roblan said.

There is an effort locally to wrest away control of the 120-mile stretch of tracks between Coquille and Eugene. The Oregon International Port of Coos Bay is pursuing an application through the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to force the sale of the railroad. That could take a year.

But right now, Roblan said, he’s communicating with lawmakers across the state about the importance of rail and Coos Bay’s predicament. There is support, he said.

State Sen. Kate Brown, D-Portland, echoed that sentiment.

“The Legislature would like to help,” said Brown, who attended the meeting.

She added that lawmakers realize investments in Coos Bay have ramifications for the entire state.

Verger reassured the men seated around the table that outside interest in the railroad isn’t dead. Union Pacific is negotiating with APM Terminals of North America, the AP Moeller Maersk subsidiary that is considering whether to build a container shipping terminal at Coos Bay. Both Verger and Roblan lamented that railroads are all-powerful across the nation.

“It’s now becoming the mode of transportation that we need to look to as a country to provide movement around the country,” Roblan said.

Yet their actions seem to demonstrate the worst in corporate America, Verger said.

Lawmakers have tried to jump into action, but meetings with railroad officials have been cool. Railroad managers are arrogant, she said.

But it’s not just the lumber mills that are suffering, said Rick Spring, Lone Rock Timber’s coastal representative. He reminded the lawmakers this rail crisis affects people trying to sell timber, from the Menashas on down to little landowners.

“That impact on our employees and our ability to survive is just as important,” he said.

Businesses last month formed the Coos-Siskiyou Shippers Coalition to attack the rail issue as one force. With the announcement last week that CORP intends to close its Siskiyou line linking Oregon and California, the organization is growing. Now, there are companies lending support to the coalition from Northern California up the Interstate 5 corridor and down the coast to Brookings, said Bob Ragon, executive director of the Douglas Timber Operators.

“It’s like fighting Goliath,” Ragon said. “It’s easy to get people to want to help you.”