PUEBLO, Colo.—Communities in southeastern Colorado are concerned that the new owners of a railroad could shut it down.
Last month, the state sold the Towner Line to V&S Railway for $9.4 million to help balance the budget. The Salt Lake City-based company has operated the line for the state for six years and will take ownership Dec. 1.
The 122-mile line runs across the Plains to the Kansas line and farmers use it to ship grain. V&S upset communities along the line by ending freight service west of Eads in 2008.
V&S tells the Pueblo Chieftain ( ) that the line isn’t very profitable and one option it’s considering is selling the steel rails for scrap.
If that happens, the company would have to give the state the option of buying it back.
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Information from: The Pueblo Chieftain,
