[sustran] Fwd: Advice requested for saving railroad and starting transit on it

Laura laura.lauramachado at gmail.com
Thu Jul 19 06:55:52 JST 2007


>Dear Transit Executive,
>
>We would like to request your advice regarding (1) saving our railroad in
the Seattle, WA area from a threatened scrapping and (2) starting a low
cost, environmentally-friendly transit service on it.
>
>This is an urgent matter, because some local government officials are
pushing to acquire the railroad from BNSF, its current owner, as quickly as
possible in order to remove the tracks and replace them with a bicycle
trail. Once the tracks have been removed  (at an estimated cost of $66
million to the taxpayers), it would be extremely difficult both politically
and financially to reinstall them. This could set back transportation and
environmental progress in our area by decades.
>
>The 47 mile railroad runs through the eastern suburbs of Seattle, parallel
to I-405, which is said to be the most congested freeway in the entire
Northwestern U.S. It passes through or near most major destinations on the
Eastside, a rapidly growing area that already has a population and level of
economic activity that rival that of nearby Seattle. This includes passing
near downtown Bellevue and directly through its growth path for future
expansion to the east. Bellevue already has the second largest urban core in
the state of Washington and is in the midst of a massive high rise
construction boom. The railroad is in good condition for a branch line
(despite claims to the contrary by its opponents), and it is used daily for
both a dinner train and a small volume of freight service.
>
>More information about this situation can be found on our web site,
www.eastsiderailnow.org.
>
>We would greatly appreciate any suggestions that you could provide based on
your experience in the rail transit field and/or on similar situations that
have occurred in your area.
>
>Thank you in advance for your assistance.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Paul Zimmer
>Eastside Rail Now!
>www.eastsiderailnow.org
>info at eastsiderailnow.org



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