Pacific Imperial Railroad

Last updated
Pacific Imperial Railroad, Inc.
PIR logo (Official).jpg
Overview
Headquarters401 West A Street

Suite 1150 San Diego, CA 92101

United States
Reporting mark PIR
Locale Southern Border Region, Southern California
Dates of operation2011–2016
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map
Pacific Imperial Railroad

The Pacific Imperial Railroad (reporting mark PIR) was a company in possession of the SD&AE Desert Line right of way in Southern California, colloquially referred to as the Desert Line. [1] The Desert Line starts at the border crossing at Division, near Campo at Milepost 59.94 (inside Tunnel #4) in eastern San Diego County, California where it connects with the Baja California Railroad in Mexico, and stretches 70.1 miles through the Jacumba Mountains to El Centro, California, where it connects to Union Pacific Railroad at Milepost 129.61. The significance of the Desert Line is that it provides an alternative rail route to and from the east for servicing the distribution, transportation, and supply chain needs of the Cali-Baja region. [2]

Contents

History

In 2012, following the embargo of the Carrizo Gorge Railway (CZRY) in October 2008 and the loss of operating rights in the Mexican Tecate-Tijuana segment, Pacific Imperial Railroad, Inc. replaced the San Diego and Imperial Valley Railroad as the rail operator between Plaster City and the border near Campo. [3] The last freight movements through the area were sand from Mexico, for use in making ready-mixed concrete for the construction markets in San Diego County, CA. [4]

Pacific Imperial Railroad, Inc. (PIR), was incorporated in Delaware on October 27, 2011 [5] and qualified to do business in California on April 23, 2012, [6] having its stated objectives being to lease, rehabilitate, reopen and resume service, manage, operate, and maintain the entire Desert Line from "Mileposts 59.94" at or near the U.S. Border in "Division" to "Milepost 130.0" at Plaster City, west of El Centro. On December 20, 2012, PIR executed a 99-year lease with San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway (SD&AE) and San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), owners of the Desert Line right of way. [7] The Desert Line extends from east San Diego County (border with Baja California) to western Imperial County.

According to an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune, in early 2014, a management team hired by the company left, alleging that investor money was fraudulently diverted to company principals. Company officials denied that was the case, and MTS said it found no evidence of any fraud. [8]

On or around October 17, 2014, Mexico's Baja California Railroad (BJRR) ended negotiations with PIR with concerns over the U.S. company's rights to haul freight through Mexico across the former Tijuana and Tecate Railroad. An article from the San Diego Reader implied that goods from San Diego may have to be trucked through Mexico and then loaded onto trains in the United States before continuing to El Centro to interchange with the Union Pacific Railroad. [9] However, there was an apparent turning point in the negotiations between BJRR and PIR sometime during the first half of 2015. On June 22, 2015 at the MTS headquarters in Downtown, San Diego, Baja California Railroad and Pacific Imperial Railroad reached a significant step by executing a memorandum of understanding expressly acknowledging the parties' desire and intent to work together to develop a binational railroad and outlining the expectations and issues that need to be resolved. The MOU states that the parties will use their best efforts to reach a "definitive agreement" on these outstanding issues within six months. Additionally, acknowledging that the delays in reaching an agreement with BJRR have also delayed the construction work necessary to bring the Desert Line back to an operational condition making it highly unlikely that PIR would be able to run a test train by the December 2015 lease deadline, PIR's management proposed that MTS agree to modify certain performance milestones so as to not be in violation of the lease. [10] Subsequently, on July 17, 2015 PIR announced on the company's website that the new milestones were approved by the MTS Board of Directors by a 17-0 vote. [11]

New owners took majority control of PIR in 2015. [12] In June 2016, PIR and BJRR reached an agreement to pay the rehabilitation and operations of the Desert Line. BJRR subleased the Desert Line from Campo to Coyote Well; PIR will operate between Coyote Wells and Plaster City. Work by BJRR on restoring the Desert Line was scheduled to begin in the summer of 2016. [13] [14]

In October 2015 Arturo Alemany Salazar was confirmed as a CEO and president of PIR. [15] Pacific Imperial Railroad Announces Majority Ownership Transfer and the Appointment of CEO and President Arturo Alemany


In October 2016, PIR announced it filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in order to facilitate the further development of its primary asset. [16]

According to Arturo Alemany, the recently appointed Chief Executive Officer of PIR, [17] "the Chapter 11 petition will enable PIR to complete its goal by securing a strategic partner with the necessary capital and expertise to develop the remainder of PIR's railway assets in a manner that will pay PIR's creditors and further the interests of the public at large." Various claims arising from before Mr. Alemany's involvement with PIR had a chilling effect on PIR's ability to raise capital. The Chapter 11 proceeding will enable PIR to maximize the value of its assets, while providing an effective forum for resolving any disputes regarding the claims. [18]

On March 10, 2017, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge approved the sale of PIR's Desert Line track leases and development rights to a Nevada corporation affiliated with Baja California Railroad. The bankruptcy case is still open, pending a final accounting of payments to creditors and two investor lawsuits. [19]

Operations

In June 2013 PIR entered into an agreement with J.L. Patterson & Associates, Inc. [20] to commence inspections of the bridges, tunnels, track, and rail. A "summary level" report of the general condition of the bridges was completed in October 2013. [21] So far, J.L. Patterson has completed initial repairs by clearing sand from the line that blew into the line's right-of-way with a ballast regulator and ran a high-tech Holland Track Geometry Hi-Rail truck on the Desert Line to identify defects on the entire Desert line.

As of July 1, 2015 PIR has made 5 payments of $500,000 totaling $2.5 million to MTS, owners of SD&AE's Desert Line right of way as part of the lease. [10] [22]

Thursday, June 9, 2016 - Binational Agreement Reached to Reconstruct the Desert Line Railroad "We have worked very hard with our partners in Mexico to realize this dream," said Arturo Alemany, Executive Board Member for Pacific Imperial Railroad. "This is a joint effort that will create a new cost-effective option for international businesses to ship products, such as automobiles, from Mexico to the eastern United States." [23]

Projects

PIR officials target the maquiladora market by interchanging with the Baja California Railroad where it meets the west end of the Desert Line, at the Mexico-US border at Division/Lindero (between Tecate and Campo), and with Union Pacific Railroad in Plaster City, CA. [24] The PIR has also expressed intent to finance the proposed "El Lindero" customs, intermodal interchange, and industrial park project, which would be located one kilometer south of the border at Division/Lindero. [25]

Improvements to the "Desert Line" started in August 2013. In August 2015, 49 empty boxcars were removed from the dormant line by GATX in preparation for reconstruction efforts. [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baja California</span> State of Mexico

Baja California, officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of Baja California. It has an area of 70,113 km2 (27,071 sq mi) and comprises the northern half of the Baja California Peninsula, north of the 28th parallel, plus oceanic Guadalupe Island. The mainland portion of the state is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean; on the east by Sonora, the U.S. state of Arizona, and the Gulf of California; on the north by the U.S. state of California; and on the south by Baja California Sur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego Trolley</span> Light rail system serving San Diego, California

The San Diego Trolley is a light rail system operating in the metropolitan area of San Diego. The Trolley's operator, San Diego Trolley, Inc., is a subsidiary of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS). The trolley operates as a critical component of the MTS, with connections to and integrated travel tickets with the local bus systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego and Arizona Railway</span> U.S. railroad founded by John D. Spreckels

The San Diego and Arizona Railway was a 148-mile (238 km) short line U.S. railroad founded by entrepreneur John D. Spreckels, and dubbed "The Impossible Railroad" by engineers of its day due to the immense logistical challenges involved. It linked San Diego, its western terminus, with El Centro, its eastern terminus, where passengers could connect with Southern Pacific's transcontinental lines, eliminating the need to first travel north via Los Angeles or Riverside.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway</span> Short-line American railroad founded in 1906

The San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway Company is a short-line American railroad founded in 1932 as the successor to the San Diego and Arizona Railway (SD&A), which was founded in 1906 by entrepreneur John D. Spreckels. Dubbed "The Impossible Railroad" by many engineers of its day due to the immense logistical challenges involved, the line was established in part to provide San Diego with a direct rail link to the east by connecting with the Southern Pacific Railroad lines in El Centro, California. Since 1979, the company has been owned by the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board and its successor, the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego and Imperial Valley Railroad</span> Class III railroad in San Diego County, California, US

The San Diego and Imperial Valley Railroad (SD&IV) is a class III railroad operating freight rail service in the San Diego area, providing service to customers in the region and moving railcars between the end of the BNSF Railway in downtown San Diego and the Mexico–United States border in San Ysidro. The railroad has exclusive trackage rights to operate over tracks of the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway, a subsidiary of the Metropolitan Transit System, the regional public transit service provider. Tracks are shared with the San Diego Trolley, another subsidiary of the Metropolitan Transit System, and freight trains are only operated at night when passenger service is not in operation. The San Diego & Imperial Valley Railroad was established in October 1984 and is owned and operated by Genesee & Wyoming, a holding company that operates more than 100 shortline railroads like the SD&IV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carrizo Gorge Railway</span> American railroad operator

Carrizo Gorge Railway, Inc. was a railroad operator on the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway (SD&AE) from Tijuana, Mexico, to Plaster City, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tecate</span> City in Baja California, Mexico

Tecate is a city in Tecate Municipality, Baja California. It is across the Mexico–US border from Tecate, California. As of 2019, the city had a population of 108,860 inhabitants, while the metropolitan area has a population of 132,406 inhabitants. Tecate is part of the San Diego-Tijuana metropolitan area and the largest city between Tijuana and Mexicali. Tecate is a regional economic hub and popular tourist destination, known as home to the Tecate Port of Entry and to Tecate Beer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 188</span> Highway in California

State Route 188, also known as Tecate Road, is an approximately two-mile (3 km) state highway in the U.S. state of California that connects State Route 94 in San Diego County with the Mexico – United States border. Its southern terminus is at the border near Tecate, Baja California and its northern terminus with SR 94 is near Tecate, California. The route was assigned in the area in 1972, and has remained intact since.

The Ferrocarril Sonora–Baja California is a former railroad line of Mexico that built the line from Mexicali, Baja California, to Benjamín Hill, Sonora in 1948. It interchanged with the Southern Pacific Railroad at Calexico, California, and with the Ferrocarril del Pacifico in Benjamin Hill, Sonora. Before 1960, The SP-controlled Inter-California railroad provided trackage rights for the SBC from Pascualitos to the International Border. SBC took control of that part after the demise of the Inter-Cal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transportation in San Diego County</span>

The following is a list of transportation options in San Diego County, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Town Transit Center</span> Passenger train, light rail, and bus station in San Diego, California, United States

Old Town Transit Center, also known as San Diego–Old Town station, or Old Town San Diego station, is an intermodal transportation station located in the Old Town neighborhood of San Diego, California. It is served by Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner, the COASTER commuter rail service, and the San Diego Trolley, as well as numerous San Diego Metropolitan Transit System bus lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego Metropolitan Transit System</span> Public transportation agency in Southern San Diego County, California

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System is a public transit service provider for central, southern, northeast, and southeast San Diego County, California, as well as for the city of San Diego. The agency directly operates a large transit system that includes the MTS Bus, San Diego Trolley light rail, and Rapid bus rapid transit services. The MTS also controls the San Diego and Arizona Eastern (SD&AE) freight railway and regulates taxicabs, jitneys, and other private for-hire passenger transportation services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego–Tijuana</span> Transborder agglomeration of the Californias

San Diego–Tijuana is an international transborder agglomeration, straddling the border of the adjacent North American coastal cities of San Diego, California, United States, and Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. The 2020 population of the region was 5,456,577, making it the largest bi-national conurbation shared between the United States and Mexico, and the second-largest shared between the US and another country. The conurbation consists of the San Diego metropolitan area, in the United States and the municipalities of Tijuana, Rosarito Beach (126,980), and Tecate (108,440) in Mexico. It is the third most populous region in the California–Baja California region, smaller only than the metropolitan areas of Greater Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Line (San Diego Trolley)</span> Light rail line in San Diego County, California

The Blue Line is a 26.3-mile (42.3 km) light rail line in the San Diego Trolley system, operated by San Diego Trolley, Inc., an operating division of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS). With an end-to-end travel time of one hour and twenty-three minutes, it operates between the UTC Transit Center and the San Ysidro Transit Center, the latter of which is at the border with Mexico directly adjacent to the San Ysidro Port of Entry, facilitating easy connections across the border. The line serves La Jolla, downtown San Diego, National City, Chula Vista, and San Ysidro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orange Line (San Diego Trolley)</span> Light rail line in San Diego County, California

The Orange Line is an 18.0-mile (29.0 km) light rail line in the San Diego Trolley system, operated by San Diego Trolley, Inc. an operating division of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. The route connects downtown San Diego with the cities of Lemon Grove, La Mesa, and El Cajon. The Orange Line has the lowest ridership of the San Diego Trolley's three regular lines, transporting 10,896,289 riders during FY 2014 according to the MTS.

Transportation in San Diego–Tijuana occurs by various means. Though, in the four cities of San Diego, Tijuana, Tecate, and Rosarito Beach, the automobile serves as most important means of transportation. The international metropolitan region maintains an intricate highway infrastructure. As a large metropolitan area in Western North America, many roadways, including Interstates, State Routes, and Mexican Federal Highways, hold a terminus in the area. These roads have grown accustomed to support the masses of the commuting populace within the international region and are constantly being expanded and/or renovated. Transportation is a crucial issue in the metropolitan area. The streets and highways of the region affect environmental health and have influence over the degree of regional connectivity. Binational discussions about coordinating public transportation across the border are currently underway. San Diego–Tijuana is the site of two major international airports and numerous regional airports. It is also the site of the Port of San Diego and miles from the nearby Port of Ensenada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baja California Railroad</span> Railroad in Baja California, Mexico

Baja California Railroad, Inc. (BJRR) is a class III railroad operating in the northwest of Baja California, interchanging with San Diego and Imperial Valley Railroad in San Ysidro, California. After rehabilitation efforts are completed on the Desert Line portion of the railroad, an interchange is also planned with the Union Pacific Railroad in Plaster City, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goat Canyon Trestle</span> Historic wooden railway bridge in southern California, United States

Goat Canyon Trestle is a wooden trestle in San Diego County, California. At a length of 597–750 feet (182–229 m), it is the world's largest all-wood trestle. Goat Canyon Trestle was built in 1933 as part of the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway, after one of the many tunnels through the Carrizo Gorge collapsed. The railway had been called the "impossible railroad" upon its 1919 completion. It ran through Baja California and eastern San Diego County before ending in Imperial Valley. The trestle was made of wood, rather than metal, due to temperature fluctuations in the Carrizo Gorge. By 2008, most rail traffic stopped using the trestle.

The Cerro Bola is a coastal metavolcanic mountain formation in northwestern Baja California. The Cerro Bola, along with the nearby mountain Cerro Gordo form the highest elevation areas of Tijuana Municipality. Because of its prominence, the transmitters for television station XHDTV and radio station XHPRS-FM are located on the summit of Cerro Bola, which reaches an elevation of 1,260 m (4,130 ft). It is located approximately 35 km (22 mi) south of the Tecate border crossing, and sits at the southwest end of the Valle de Las Palmas. The mountain range is host to a number of rare and endemic plant species, such as Arctostaphylos bolensis and Ceanothus bolensis.

Tijuana station is a former passenger rail station and current freight rail station located in Tijuana, Baja California.

References

  1. ↑ McFarland, Thomas F. "Change in Operators Exemption" (PDF). Surface Transportation Board. STB - Finance Docket.
  2. ↑ "About PIR". pacificimperialrailroad.com. Archived from the original on 2015-08-21. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  3. ↑ "San Diego MTS Report" (PDF). Sdmts.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
  4. ↑ "Exhibit "1"" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  5. ↑ "Department of State: Division of Corporations". Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  6. ↑ "California Secretary of State Business Entity Search". Archived from the original on 15 March 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  7. ↑ "Pacific Imperial Railroad Announces Update in Operations". Business Wire. 2013-02-15. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
  8. ↑ Moran, Greg (2015-07-07). "Border Railroad Makes its MTS Payment". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
  9. ↑ "Still no light at the end of the tunnel - Pacific Imperial's binational railroad may involve some trucks". SanDiegoReader.com. 2014-11-11. Retrieved 2015-04-26.
  10. 1 2 "MTS July 2015 Board of Directors Meeting Agenda" (PDF). sdmts.com. 2015-07-16. Archived from the original on 2015-09-08. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  11. ↑ "The Desert Line and the Sunset Route". pacificimperialrailroad.com. 2015-07-17. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  12. ↑ Hargrove, Dorian (27 January 2016). "The long-desired transnational railroad" . Retrieved 2016-08-21.
  13. ↑ "US-Mexico railroad agreement reached in San Diego". Trains Magazine . 2016-06-10. Retrieved 2016-08-05.
  14. ↑ Stewart, Joshua (June 9, 2016). "Border rail line to connect U.S., Mexico". The San Diego Union-Tribune . Retrieved 2016-08-21.
  15. ↑ "Pacific Imperial Railroad Announces Majority Ownership Transfer and the Appointment of CEO and President Arturo Alemany". www.businesswire.com. October 28, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Pacific Imperial Railroad Undertakes Chapter 11 Reorganization" (PDF). Pacific Imperial Railroad. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-09-22. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
  17. ↑ "PIR Appointment of CEO and President | Arturo Alemany". arturoalemany.com. Archived from the original on 2016-11-29. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  18. ↑ "Pacific Imperial Railroad Undertakes Chapter 11 Reorganization". Pacific Imperial Railroad. 2016-10-14. Archived from the original on 2017-01-20.
  19. ↑ Diven, Bill (2017-03-16). "Judge clears way for Pacific Imperial asset sale". Trains Magazine . Retrieved 2017-03-17.
  20. ↑ "Pacific Imperial railroad, Inc. Enters into Services Agreement with J.L. Patterson & Associates, Inc" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-09-21.
  21. ↑ "Pacific Imperial Railroad's March 2015 Presentation to MTS Board" (PDF). pacificimperialrailroad.com. 2015-03-12. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  22. ↑ "Pacific Imperial Railroad Reaches Major Milestones; Pays $500,000 Lease for Desert Line". Sdmts.com. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
  23. ↑ "Binational Agreement Reached to Reconstruct the Desert Line Railroad". Pacific Imperial Railroad. June 9, 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-08-24.
  24. ↑ Dibble, Sandra. "Rebuilding historic U.S.-Mexico rail link". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 11 Feb 2013.
  25. ↑ Cervantes, Sandra. "Preparan proyecto El Lindero en Tecate". El Economista (in Mexican Spanish). Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 3 Dec 2012.
  26. ↑ "Clearing the Way for Reconstruction". Pacific Imperial Railroad. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.