According to a story in the Spokesman Review this morning, the Washington State House of Representatives wants to appropriate more than $14 million to finish buying – and start repairing – the Palouse River and Coulee City Railroad.
In the house budget, $2 million was allocated to complete the purchase of the line from a private owner, and $3.6 million would pay for rehabilitation work on the rail line. The bulk of the cash, about $8.6 million, would pay for rehabilitation work, but only after a local public entity takes over operation of the state-owned rail system. The House is expected to approve the budget proposal Friday, and the Senate will release its plan after that.
Now that the state has rescued the PCC line from extinction, how do you think the line should be opperated?