Salt Lake City filed a promised lawsuit Friday to stop Union Pacific from running trains through the west side of town.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, follows a Thursday filing by Union Pacific with the federal Surface Transportation Board that contested the city's requirements and restating the railroad's plan to reactivate its tracks along 900 South. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Ted Stewart.
The city has requested a preliminary injunction against the Union Pacific plans.
According to the court documents, the city wants the court to force Union Pacific to adhere to a 1989 agreement between the city and the railroad.
The court filing said that the agreement provides that if any portion of the 900 South line is not used for a continuous period of nine months, the city may declare the line abandoned and require removal.
Union Pacific has disputed the validity of that agreement since Aug. 3, when Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson gave written notice to the railroad that the city was exercising its option to declare the line abandoned.
Trains have not run along 900 South since 1999, although the railroad has told the city that it plans to add new tracks and start operating trains along the line.
The city contends that Union Pacific, even while negotiating the 1989 agreement, was "misleading and fraudulent" because it never actually intended to follow the abandonment provisions.
Because of that conduct, the city claims that it has suffered financial damages because it assumed the agreement was binding.
Other damages the city could incur if trains begin operating along 900 South include a loss of tax revenue because of reduced property values for homes near the trains, the filing said.
E-mail: jloftin@desnews.com