| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010 6:52 am |
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Local News 
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Hopes for Snohomish excursion train may hinge on railway purchase SNOHOMISH — The long-delayed purchase of a 42-mile railway corridor between Snohomish and Renton may be completed by Dec. 15, the Port of Seattle announced Friday.No one can say what that means for a planned excursion train on a section of the tracks between Snohomish and Woodinville, however. More details could be released soon, port officials said, but specifics aren’t available while negotiations are underway with Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, owner of the tracks. “Any assumptions about what will happen with an excursion train are premature,” said Charla Skaggs, a Port of Seattle spokeswoman. The port’s announcement confused some and delighted others. Snohomish City Manager Larry Bauman was still digesting the news, which explained that the tracks would be purchased through a partnership with the port and several other agencies. He noted that the excursion train was left out of a list of uses for the tracks. “This deal has kind of a vague element in it — or a lot of vague elements — that don’t speak to future uses for passenger service,” Bauman said. “It’s hard for me to know exactly what’s going on.” Bauman has been working with a Dallas attorney, Lonnie Blaydes, to get a handle on the city’s rights when it comes to railway service, since the proposed excursion train has divided opinion in the city of 8,800. Supporters see the excursion train as a boon — a way to boost the local economy by bringing day-trippers to downtown shops. Others worry that by opening the railway corridor, the city could find itself forced into becoming a freight stop, not a tourist stop. The City Council hired Blaydes, a railway expert, to advise them on their rights. They want to know, for instance, if they could allow an excursion train into the city while keeping freight service out. Blaydes may meet with the council in a closed session on Nov. 17 to offer input. Meanwhile, the port’s announcement of a looming purchase “delighted” Tom Payne, the man who would like to his company, GNP Railway to run trains on the tracks. By Payne’s estimation, the announcement left room for an excursion train. “The first thing we have to do is start the freight service, and that comes first,” Payne said. “Then you work on anything else later.” Skaggs said the port’s announcement had a simple takeaway: The tracks could be sold in about one month with help from five other agencies. King County, Sound Transit, the city of Redmond, Puget Sound Energy and the Cascade Water Alliance will join the port in making the purchase, which was delayed from December 2008 by global economic upset. “I recognize everybody is anxious for details,” Skaggs said Friday. “We think those will be forthcoming soon.” Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455, arathbun@heraldnet.com. |
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