Growers say proposed rail route to Mexico a threat
PHOENIX -- A proposed new Mexican seaport could provide Union Pacific Railroad with a major business opportunity _ trainloads of shipping containers of imported goods to haul to points across the United States.
But southwestern Arizona farmers say that opportunity for Union Pacific could spell trouble for them.
After rumors had Yuma-area residents wondering during much of 2006 what Union Pacific was up to, the Omaha, Neb.-based railroad is shedding light on its possible involvement in a multicompany project to build and operate a seaport at Punta Colonet in Baja California.
Union Pacific says plans for the project are still under development but that it has started acquiring options to buy property for the U.S. portion of a 200-mile spur that container trains could travel between UP's east-west "Sunset Route" main line near Yuma and the proposed seaport.
With U.S. ports on the West Coast congested, Mexico has several projects in the works to expand existing ports or establish new ones to offload Asian imports. Meanwhile, in the U.S., UP already is upgrading the Sunset Route, adding a second track through Arizona to increase its capacity to move trains. The Sunset Route main line runs from Louisiana to California.
Full story here
Where is Punta Colonet? According to my H.M. Gousha atlas from 1997 there is a town of Colnett on Cabo Colnett (Colnett Bay) on the Oceano Pacifico. Is this the same locale as referenced in the news story?
And I'm not sure just why these farmers are all upset at the prospect of a new rail line through the area. Certainly, it is doubtful any US ag product will utilize the new line, since it's specifically for import containers, but it might have some local accessability as well.
And c'mon! Worrying about diesel exhaust from locomotives! Do these guys drive emissions-free electric tractors themselves?
They oughta talk to their Montana cohorts in the ag community. Them Northern boys would love for BNSF or UP to build a new 200 mile line through their neck of the woods!
I'm not sure where Cabo Colnett is, but Punta Colonet is a village about 80 miles south of Ensenada, or 150 miles south of Tijuana.
As near as I can tell, the farmers are upset because with 90 trains a day, they might have to wait a few minutes in order to get from one side of the tracks to the other.
I was reading an environmental report that Coalition for a Safe Environment (CFASE) wrote regarding the Punta Colonet project. Among other things, it says:
Require all truck and train transportation corridors to be located a minimum of 10 km from any residential community, hospital, public school, child care center or endangered animal species habitat.
So, umm... where are the people who work at the port supposed to live?
Transportation corridors such as train routes and truck highways should not be planned to cut through the middle of communities, cities and farm lands.
If a train route can't be built through farm lands, where can it be built?
When talking about pollution generating sources, the recommendation is:
Require all trains to be electric.
But, doesn't electricity have to get generated somehow, somewhere? I might be wrong, but I don't think that Mexico is the place to build the cleanest possible facilities for the production of electricity. I'm gonna guess that they would build a coal-fired facility with no scrubbers.
what about the Kansas City Southern dont thay have NAFTA down there??
thay where trying to get a sea port in Mexico since the late 1800's
So the Coalition for a Safe Environment would like the world to be totally green. What else is news.
I don't see them providing the additional capital their dreams would require. Nor do I see them curtailing the need by foregoing all those 'made in China' items traveling in containers from the Pacific to points east. In fact, I seriously wonder if there is a working mechanical or civil engineer among their policy-makers.
The farther an academic or politician is from the problem, the easier it is for them to demand preposterous solutions.
Chuck.
Datafever wrote: I'm not sure where Cabo Colnett is, but Punta Colonet is a village about 80 miles south of Ensenada, or 150 miles south of Tijuana.
Then it is the same place, just different spellings. I wonder which spelling is the correct one?
futuremodal wrote: Datafever wrote: I'm not sure where Cabo Colnett is, but Punta Colonet is a village about 80 miles south of Ensenada, or 150 miles south of Tijuana.Then it is the same place, just different spellings. I wonder which spelling is the correct one?
Its possible that both names and both spellings are correct (ie. Munich and München).
Yuma Sun - Arizona / March 14, 2007
Concerned citizens, farmers and business leaders have banded together to try to make the best of a proposed new Union Pacific railroad line through the community. "We need to be proactive to protect the community for our children," said Dave Mansheim, chairman of the newly formed Arizona Common Sense. "We aren't opposed to the railroad, we just want to come up with the route with the least impact on the future of the community."
...
Union Pacific is exploring potential routes for a new rail line to carry goods from a proposed deep-water port in Punta Colonet, 150 miles south of Tijuana, to markets across the United States. In recent months, several organizations have met to mount opposition to the railroad's plans.
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