"'Derail the Sale' is a non-partisan campaign that has an interest in stopping the sale of our railroad," organizer Abby Friend told CityBeat. “The goal for our event is to bring out as many Cincinnati voters that are curious about the sale to get the other side of the story."
Last November, city leaders announced a plan to sell the CSR to Norfolk Southern in exchange for a $1.6 billion trust fund to shore up basic services for the city. The principal balance wouldn't be touched, meaning the city estimates it would have an annual stream of cash ranging from $50 million to $70 million. Cincinnati voters will decide whether to approve the sale on Nov. 7.The proposed sale
The CSR is a single rail line that starts in Cincinnati and ends in Chattanooga that the city leases to Norfolk Southern for $25 million a year. The 336-mile commercial freight railway is the only city-owned multi-state railway in the country. The first lease agreement with Norfolk Southern was signed in 1881 and has been renewed on a 25-year cycle ever since. The latest lease agreement turns 25 this year, and city leaders want Cincinnati to break up with the commercial rail industry in the form of a sale. Mayor Aftab Pureval told CityBeat during a June interview that it's the only way to fund our city's existing infrastructure needs in perpetuity amid a growing $300 million deficit.
"They're looking at our [railroad] as something we can just toss out the door instead of sitting down and finding creative solutions to some of our problems," she said.
"If this doesn’t pass and our deferred capital maintenance continues to go up by hundreds of millions of dollars then we would no longer be able to maintain the infrastructure we have. Roads will no longer be able to be paved with regularity, potholes will continue to be a challenge. We wouldn’t be able to remove snow effectively and quickly," Pureval told CityBeat. "The basic blocking and tackling of running a city will no longer be affordable."
Friend said the city isn't trying to find other ways to fill that gap than selling the CSR.
"They're looking at our [railroad] as something we can just toss out the door instead of sitting down and finding creative solutions to some of our problems," she said.
Friend said voters should be deeply skeptical of Norfolk Southern due to their track record for safety, especially after what happened in East Palestine.
“It was terrifying and shocking to see," said Friend.
How East Palestine changed everything
A Norfolk Southern train derailed in the small Eastern Ohio village of East Palestine on Feb. 3, igniting a chain of events that ended in a controlled burn of the train’s toxic load of chemicals, mainly vinyl chloride. The plume of thick black smoke soared above homes and waterways, painting a dark picture for the weeks to come as fear and anxiety set in over lingering chemicals.
Friend told CityBeat she visited East Palestine after the derailment, along with two other organizers.
Friend told CityBeat she visited East Palestine after the derailment, along with two other organizers.
“A group of us went and visited East Palestine in hopes to talk to neighbors there, see how we could be helpful, and we ended up joining a community meeting there where there was standing room only,” she said. “It was just really eye opening and terrifying and shocking and heartbreaking to see the residents of East Palestine being impacted and not having answers.”
During the town hall meeting, Friend said the fears of community members became her fears knowing the CSR sale was possible in Cincinnati.
“We all knew that this sale was a possibility, that the city had been discussing it and how it was moving through the CSR board,” she said. “There was a woman there with her partner and she was breastfeeding her infant standing in this room with all of her friends and neighbors just begging for answers, like how she could keep her family safe, what should she be doing. It was shocking, it was so upsetting."
The teach-in will take place at 6 p.m. on Sept. 7th at the Northside Union Hall across from Dojo Gelato at 4100 Colerain Avenue. Friend said voters can learn more about "Derail the Sale" by visiting the organization's Instagram.
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