Portland & Western Railroad is facing a federal complaint before the U.S. Surface Transportation Board alleging that the railroad is shirking its obligations in the aftermath of a railroad bridge’s collapse into the Marys River in Corvallis in January 2025.

The complaint from farmer Larry Venell alleges that the railroad “refused to take any action or provide any information regarding a timeline to resume service” in the 17 months since the bridge collapse.

The railroad is stuck between its legal obligation to provide “common carrier” rail service, and the reality of an estimated $4 million to $6.5 million cost to rebuild the bridge and restore rail service for a handful of small-scale agricultural customers.

Portland & Western Railroad (PNWR) has left two locomotives and 16 railcars stranded on tracks south of Corvallis’ airport.

PNWR has taken no apparent steps to rebuild the bridge. The city of Corvallis has received no permit applications related to bridge reconstruction, city spokesman Patrick Rollens stated in an email.

An attorney for the railroad, Justin Marks of Clark Hill in Washington, D.C., referred questions to the railroad, which did not respond. The complaint names Portland & Western and its parent company, Genesee & Wyoming Inc., a holding company based in Connecticut.

In a February email to the 91��Ƶ, Genesee & Wyoming spokesman Tom Ciuba stated: “We’re still evaluating repairs as well as a plan to retrieve the locomotives that were involved in the incident, as we do need them for operations.”

The complaint charges that the railroads are violating their obligations as common carriers under federal law. Rail carriers are generally required to provide rail service upon “reasonable request.”

Venell charges that PNWR plans to remove the locomotives rather than resume rail service. The railroad has sought contractors to remove the locomotives by truck; one quoted $409,890 for the job.

“By attempting to remove its stranded rail equipment from (Venell’s) property by truck at a significant cost — while failing to take steps to restore interchange service as a common carrier — PNWR has demonstrated that it has no intention of resuming such service anytime soon,” the complaint alleges. The complaint was by local journalist Hasso Hering.

The railroad denied the allegations in a May 28 legal filing, and suggested it does not plan to rebuild the bridge. The railroad estimated it would cost $4 million to replace the bridge span if the remaining timber foundations and spans could be used, or approximately $6.5 million to replace the whole structure.

PNWR also instituted an embargo on the rail line, formally placing it out of service.

“Given the high cost of rebuilding the bridge and the anticipated low volume and revenues from traffic that would move to and from the Bailey Branch extension, (Portland & Western) was justified in not moving forward to rebuild the bridge, and in imposing the embargo,” Portland & Western’s attorneys stated.

If funding is not available to rebuild the bridge, the attorneys added, “then (Portland & Western) would be justified in seeking discontinuance authority from the board with respect to its lease of the Bailey Branch” in that area.

Venell’s companies VFRC, a limited liability company, and Venell Farms Inc. are the plaintiffs for the federal complaint alongside Albany & Eastern Railroad Co. Venell did not respond to a message seeking comment Thursday.

Venell recently sent the railroad a $400,000 invoice for “16 months siding and yard rent for two locomotives, PNWR3532 & PNWR3549, Jan. 2025 through April 2026.”

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality fined Portland & Western $81,600 for the bridge collapse, which plunged railcars into the Marys River. The agency found that the crashed railcars released approximately 199 tons of urea — a common fertilizer ingredient — into the river.

The DEQ further ordered PNWR to report on the condition of its other wooden trestles in Oregon.

“Given the circumstances of this incident, DEQ is concerned about the condition and safety of Portland & Western Inc.’s railroad crossings over water bodies,” DEQ interim enforcement manager Erin Saylor wrote to the railroad on Nov. 25, 2025.

The trestle was previously damaged in a 2002 fire started by a meth lab explosion, according to the plaintiffs’ attorneys. The cross braces “were severely burned and sustained substantial damage,” but the railroad did not replace the damaged portions, the complaint alleges.

The trestle collapsed on Jan. 4, 2025, under the weight of railcars.

The railroad disputed that the bridge failed because of fire damage, instead blaming “extreme high-water conditions” on the river.

PNWR operates the line, known as the Bailey Branch, under a lease from Union Pacific. The branch extends 17.7 miles from Corvallis to Monroe, with a spur to Dawson.

Venell, who farms wheat, grass seed and animal feed, has a long history of disputes with the railroad. He sued Union Pacific and Genessee & Western in 2007, alleging the railroads had failed to repair and maintain the track. Venell later purchased a section of the line from Union Pacific rather than continue the lawsuit.

The Marys River incident came amid a spate of rail accidents that raised questions about the quality of Oregon’s rail infrastructure. A PNWR train derailed near Toledo in January on a trestle over another small body of water, Ollala Slough. Then in February, seven boxcars derailed in Union Pacific’s Eugene rail yard.

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