A report originating in Kern County raises the possibility of establishing a short-haul rail link to move shipping containers between the Shafter area and Port of Oakland on tracks which run through West Side communities – a prospect which is being greeted with concern and skepticism by local leaders.

The proposal is still in its conceptual stages and faces a number of significant challenges – not the least of which are finances and finding a way to reconnect gaps in the old Southern Pacific line to create the San Joaquin Valley link with the Port of Oakland.

Preliminary or not, the prospect of additional trains rumbling through an area already facing substantial impacts from the West Park project near Crows Landing is cause for consternation among city and county officials.

West Park officials contend that the two projects are independent of one another and that the inland port planned for Crows Landing has no connection with the rail report, but local leaders see a cumulative impact on the rural West Side if both become reality.

“Maybe it is independent, but it may have something to do with the fact that they will have a major transportation center,” said Gustine City Manager Margaret Silveira. “Whether it is independent or not, it means that Gustine has to be sitting at the table and looking out for itself.”

Robert Ball, a senior planner for Kern County, said San Joaquin Valley Council of Government directors are exploring but not endorsing the possibility of creating the rail link to Oakland.

Increased rail capacity for the movement of goods and agricultural commodities is critical economically and to prevent more and more freight being delivered by truck – which leads to traffic congestion and air quality concerns. No short-haul rail link currently exists to deliver San Joaquin Valley ag commodities to California ports, the concept paper points out.

Ball said the concept paper envisions the track also providing passenger service which feeds into a high-speed rail system. Funding may be available for that purpose from the California High Speed Rail Bond, he noted.

“The old Southern Pacific line is prime for that,” he commented. “If you can develop your community to where a lot of folks are within walking distance to commuter rail, suddenly you’ve got tremendous potential,” he said. “When I-5 is all clogged up, you have a rail system.”

A pilot project operating out of Shafter on other rail lines is envisioned as a test for the viability of short-haul container transport by rail.

“Let’s see if it works. If not, it (the extended line) is probably impossible,” Ball told Mattos Newspapers. “If it is successful, it sets up a precedent that says we can do it at Fresno, Crows Landing and Lathrop.”

Private investment would likely be required to make the project a reality, Ball said. “We are trying to get an understanding of where the private sector wants to go. They will make the decision by investments.”

He does not see a valley-Port of Oakland line carrying a large number of trains daily.

“The volumes we are talking about in the San Joaquin Valley are relative small. Even if you did containerized freight, you are not going to be clogging up an entire freight line,” Ball stated.

A short haul rail line would also have the advantage of freeing up capacity on existing lines for long-haul trains, he noted.

Still, local leaders are not sold on the concept – and they contend the report was prepared without the knowledge of officials in Stanislaus and Merced counties.

“I am very upset about it. The other counties had not even talked to Stanislaus County about this. There is certainly a sense of secrecy about what they are doing,” said Stanislaus County Supervisor Jim DeMartini. “There is an effort to connect this line all the way to Bakersfield. You are talking about enormously increased rail traffic back and forth.”

He questioned whether the project would qualify for state bond funding. “The high speed rail bond has nothing to do with freight,” the supervisor stated.

DeMartini questioned whether the project was even feasible.

“There are sections of that track which don’t exist any more, especially south of Los Banos,” he said. “Whether they can make this work or not, I don’t know.”

Newman City Manager Michael Holland said Thursday he had not reviewed the concept paper in detail, but also expressed doubts about the feasibility of such a rail link.

“The would have to reroute that around Los Banos, which means that they are getting into wetlands. I think there are some issues there,” he commented.

Still, people are apparently looking into the possibility of doing just that, said Gustine council member Joe Oliveira.

“I have known something was going on because I heard through the grapevine that the railroad people had somebody from Los Banos looking at the proposed route, although they wouldn’t expand on it too much,” he said. “

Holland questioned whether the West Park environmental impact studies currently under way will take the possibility of an extended rail link to the south into consideration.

Silveira agreed that should be the case, saying the projects would have a cumulative impact.

West Park developer Gerry Kamilos said the Crows Landing inland port and business/industrial complex is along the same rail corridor which would be part of the proposed rail link to the south, but is a stand-alone project.

West Park is an independent, self-contained program that will be analyzed as such, Kamilos said, while other projects will conduct their own environmental reviews if they move forward.

Local leaders say they will closely monitor the proposal, and will be involved if the planning moves forward.