County Seeks Federal Order in Rail Dispute

Ventura County is asking the federal government to require Union Pacific Railroad to allow Metrolink trains on a 20-mile stretch of track after Feb. 28, the deadline for the two sides to agree on a lease.

The county transportation commission filed a claim with the federal Surface Transportation Board, formerly the Interstate Commerce Commission, after it was unable to agree with Union Pacific on a fair price for use of the track, which runs from Camarillo to Oxnard.

Commission Chairman Bill Davis had harsh words for the company, likening it to the railroad robber barons of the 19th century.

“The issue here is about greed, pure and simple,” Davis said at news conference Thursday. “The railroad could care less about the people who need Metrolink. . . . Their only concern is dollars and cents.”

Union Pacific officials declined to talk about the dispute in detail. “I can only say that what we’re asking is fair,” said Larry Smith, a railroad negotiator.

The disagreement is over the cost of a lease that would allow Metrolink to use the tracks. While Union Pacific wants $430,000 a year, the commission maintains a fair-market price for that use is about $58,000.

The commission has been negotiating with the railroad for almost a year and has agreed to pay $6.10 a mile daily per train for maintenance.

The commission also has agreed to pay $16.5 million for capital projects, including along the disputed section, and is seeking an additional $20 million in federal and state funds to repair a rail tunnel near Simi Valley.

The commission has already paid more than $60 million for improvements to the Coast Main Line, which carries passenger and freight traffic through Ventura County.

Union Pacific also wants to quadruple the county’s cost for running trains to the County Fair and charge Metrolink for running the annual Santa Claus trains that help fire departments collect toys for needy children.

“To say the least, Union Pacific is being excessive,” said Richard Stanger, Metrolink’s executive director.

The federal board will rule on the matter before June.