SNOHOMISH — An abandoned rail corridor between Snohomish and Renton should be preserved and used for commuter trains, taking pressure off clogged roads, officials around Snohomish County hope.

“Transportation is a huge problem,” Snohomish City Councilwoman Karen Guzak said. “As you know, Highway 9 is very congested.”

Guzak and Warner Blake, president of the Snohomish Historical Society, plan a town forum in Snohomish on Thursday to discuss the future of the 42-mile track between Snohomish and Renton.

The Port of Seattle, in partnership with King County, intends to buy the tracks from Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway for $103 million.

No plan has been developed to renovate the tracks for commuter trains and to build a recreational trail along the tracks, said Bruce Agnew, director of Cascadia Center for Regional Development. The nonprofit group in Seattle advocates preserving the tracks.

“We believe it’s an ideal trail-and-rail corridor,” Agnew said.

The group estimates that it would cost $37 million to replace the existing decades-old tracks with new ones so that commuter trains could use them, Agnew said.

The question is who will foot the bill and operate commuter trains, Agnew said.

Snohomish residents and business people also hope that a popular dinner train would use the tracks between Snohomish and Woodinville.

The Spirt of Washington Dinner Train that draws about 100,000 riders per year shut down in summer 2007 between Renton and Woodinville because a bridge on the route was in the way of widening I-405 in Bellevue. The train was relocated to a temporary route in Tacoma, but high operation costs and slow ticket sales forced the rain’s owner to abandon the route.

Eric Temple, the train’s owner, couldn’t reached for comment.

Snohomish County isn’t pitching in any money to buy the rail corridor, but it should have a say in its future, Snohomish County Councilman Dave Somers said.

“King County is in the driver’s seat because they invested money,” Somers said. “The community needs to speak up, ‘We need to preserve this as a rail corridor.’”

Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.

Get involved at town forum

People are encouraged to attend a town forum to discuss a regional trail-and-rail system from Snohomish to Renton at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Angel Arms Works, 230 Ave. B, Snohomish.

Space is limited. To reserve a spot, contact Jennifer Zucati at 206-292-0401, ext. 157, or jenniferz@discovery.org.