By: Lukas Velush
Everett Herald
January 28, 2008
Original article
A test commuter rail project could be rolling on tracks from Snohomish to Bellevue in just two to three years under a proposal by a regional group of rail enthusiasts.
Members of the Seattle-based Cascadia Center at Discovery Institute have led a push to keep King County from ripping up tracks that run from Woodinville to Renton. They say it would be inexpensive to upgrade the tracks enough to allow small, quiet commuter rail trains to run down the route every half hour to an hour.
King County officials have pushed to yank out the tracks and put in a trail. They have said the tracks are too worn out for commuter trains. They want commuter rail service, but only in the future, when there's more demand and money to foot the bill.
Despite that, momentum has built to keep the tracks in place since Proposition 1 and Sound Transit's ambitious plan to extend light rail to much of the region failed at the polls in November, said Bruce Agnew, executive director of Cascadia Center.
"This has become the new darling of the public transportation world," Agnew said. "It's only natural to say, 'Well, that didn't work -- can we do something that's significantly less costly?'"
The goal is to run commuter trains down the tracks and to build a trail along the corridor, Agnew said. To woo supporters of both options for the corridor, he proposes to start by running trains from Snohomish to Bellevue and building a trail from Renton to Bellevue. Later, rail and trail could be extended along the entire route, he said.
In the end, it appears the Port of Seattle will have the final say over what happens to the tracks. It is in the final stages of buying the 42-mile Snohomish-to-Renton rail corridor from Burlington Northern Santa Fe for $103 million. Port of Seattle officials have said they are trying to buy the tracks because the Puget Sound region can't afford to lose a valuable north-south corridor.
It isn't clear whether Port of Seattle officials want to keep the tracks or pull them up. They have worked closely with King County as they have worked to buy the corridor.
"We hope to have (a purchase agreement) finalized by the end of the month," said Charla Skaggs, a spokeswoman for the Port of Seattle. "At that point we'll have a public process about how the corridor will be used going forward."
The Cascadia Center estimates it would take $37 million to spruce up the tracks from Snohomish to Renton enough to allow commuter trains to run down the tracks in a pilot project. Currently, trains have to slow down to 25 mph along much of the route. The improvements Agnew is calling for would allow trains to travel at speeds of 40 mph or faster.
The concept is to run one-car trains down the tracks from Snohomish to Bellevue to test whether there are enough riders to support permanent service. If the test goes well, it would likely cost up to $250 million to build new stations, fix bridges and make other improvements needed to turn tracks into a viable commuter train corridor, Agnew said. That figure includes the cost of building a trail along the entire route.
Fewer trains could run in the less-populated Snohomish County sections of the route. The goal would be to link the service to better commuter bus service along I-405.
The proposal has caught the eye of Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon, who says he may push to use Sound Transit dollars to figure out what the true cost would be.
"I support preserving that corridor for commuter rail," said Reardon, who is the new chairman of the Sound Transit finance committee. "Cascadia Center has presented costs that are very, very low. The most important thing right now is to drill down on the numbers."
State Rep. Liz Loomis, D-Snohomish, on Thursday introduced a bill to have the Puget Sound Regional Council study developing commuter rail service between Snohomish and Renton.
"This could be a start of something great," Loomis said.
Strong population growth in east Snohomish County has created a large pool of potential rail riders if trains were provided, Agnew said. His organization expects to launch a study soon to identify just how many potential riders exist.
SIDEBAR ARTICLE
City hopes rails would attract tourism, money
SNOHOMISH -- Commuter trains proposed to run between Snohomish and Bellevue could not only bring relief to clogged roads, but also make Snohomish a tourism destination.
Some local residents and officials are drumming up support for preserving a little-used rail corridor between Snohomish and Renton. About 100 people attended a town forum on Jan. 17 to discuss the future of the 42 miles of track, said Snohomish City Councilwoman Karen Guzak, who was the forum's host.
Rail advocates estimate that it would take two years and cost $37 million to start commuter train service between Snohomish and Bellevue. The tracks now carry cargo trains.
"It's extremely cost-effective," Guzak said. "It's much more cost-effective than building a highway."
She hopes to generate support for the commuter trains among other city officials. Snohomish commuters now drive on congested roads such as Highway 9 to get to King County.
"I hear so many positive comments. People are very excited about this," Guzak said.
Some who live along the rail corridor shared their concerns that the commuter trains could bring unbearable noise and lower their property values, Guzak said.
The future of the rail corridor is still up in the air.
The Port of Seattle, in partnership with King County, plans to buy the tracks from Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway for $103 million. No firm plan has been set to renovate the decades-old tracks for commuter trains and add a recreational trail along the tracks.
Snohomish officials and business people hope that the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train would use the tracks, bringing tourists from Woodinville to the historic downtown in Snohomish.
The popular dinner train shut down last summer between Renton and Woodinville because a bridge on the route was in the way of widening I-405 in Bellevue. The train that attracted about 100,000 riders annually was rerouted to Tacoma. High operation costs and slow ticket sales ended the service.
The future of the tracks could have a big impact on Snohomish, City Councilwoman Lynn Schilaty said.
"We have to play a very important role," Schilaty said.
Schilaty said she has many questions about the preservation of the rail corridor. A big question is who will pay for renovating the tracks and operating commuter trains.
"I don't see how much we can pitch in right now given our budget," she said.
-- Yoshiaki Nohara, Herald Writer
