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I I I Council Meeting Minutes January 28, 1997 Page 3 Council Business City Manager Matthew Fulton presented a discussion relating to railroad issues. New Brighton has several railroads that operate within its boundaries, and the Minnesota Commercial and CP Rail Systems own tracks throughout the City. The Wisconsin Central Railroad leases those tracks to transport coal daily from Wyoming to power plants in Wisconsin. Several issues have been raised concerning the noise and road blockages generated by these trains. Council requested this issue be addressed so to develop a good understanding of the issue, and determine long term solutions as well as interim steps to eliminate or reduce the level of inconvenience. Not only is this an issue of inconvenience, but it also impacts the City's ability to provide emergency vehicles from one side of the tracks to the other. The City retained the services of Dave McKensie, Short Elliot Hendrickson (SEH) to research this issue. Also, the matter has been discussed by the Economic Development Commission as it relates to the Hwy 8 Corridor Study Planning Process. Dave McKensie, SEH, explained that the railroad has been a part of New Brighton for many years and the railroad yard located in the pole yards has been in existence for over 70 years. Operations currently utilizing New Brighton tracks transport coal trains, provide general switching of cars, and deliver materials to local industries. The need for general commodities such as paper, coal, lumber, and chemicals have increased, but this is not cause of the problem. The problem appears to be the length of the coal trains which come from Wyoming on the Union Pacific Railroad System and then transfer to the Wisconsin Central Railroad in New Brighton. What complicates the matter is the Minnesota Commercial Railroad owns the north/south line and the Soo Line Railway System owns the east/west line. The coal trains run about 110-150 cars, equal to 7,000 ft. in length. In order to make the turnaround, these cars are pushed north of 1st St. and eventually block the 8th and 10th St. intersections. Normally, this procedure takes 20- 30 minutes. State law prohibits a train from blocking an intersection for more than 10 minutes, however, this law relates to when a train is at a dead stop. Because the train is moving, it is not in violation, but merely creating a major inconvenience. The Wisconsin Central Railroad proposes that in order to remedy this situation, another wide track or connection track needs to be constructed to eliminate the need for the coal trains to travel north. However, this proposal would require purchasing of private property and other track modifications which could easily cost $200,000-250,000. This option would simplify daily switching movements of the Wisconsin Central and Minnesota Commercial railroads and eliminate the need for some northern trackage. Gunderman asked if the coal trains could cross the 1-694 bridge and remain in Long Lake Park until the switching movements are completed. McKensie believes that the extreme length of the trains would only allow for a short reprieve at the 10th St. intersection. Gunderman feels that providing a 5-10 minute break for traffic would be worthwhile. McKensie also noted that the Long Lake Park tracks may not be equipped to handle the very heavy coal cars or train movements. Benke noted that delays are also seen at the City's southern end, and asked why the trains are not using alternative routes throughout the Metro Area. McKensie confirmed that the railroad has investigated alternative routes, but found issues relating to trackage rights and congestion problems. Council Business Railroad Crossing Issues Report 97-019