Comments on: BNSF selects GNP/Ballard to serve Snohomish County shippers http://seattletransitblog.com/2008/09/25/bnsf-selects-gnpballard-to-serve-snohomish-county-shippers/ Transit in the Greater Seattle Area Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:33:50 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Lor Scara http://seattletransitblog.com/2008/09/25/bnsf-selects-gnpballard-to-serve-snohomish-county-shippers/#comment-11265 Lor Scara Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:27:53 +0000 http://seattletransitblog.com/?p=1119#comment-11265 I have not done the research myself, however this <a href="http://www.kirklandviews.com/2008/09/27/rail-foe-uses-false-information-in-attempt-to-sway-the-public-opinion-against-port-of-seattle-and-bnsf-rail-operator/" title="blog" rel="nofollow"> has and they post severe questions about the credability (and existance) of the "Western Rail News Network". Please take the above "News Article" with a grain of salt and validate it yourself Lor Scara
I have not done the research myself, however this has and they post severe questions about the credability (and existance) of the “Western Rail News Network”. Please take the above “News Article” with a grain of salt and validate it yourself

Lor Scara

]]> By: Western Rail News Network http://seattletransitblog.com/2008/09/25/bnsf-selects-gnpballard-to-serve-snohomish-county-shippers/#comment-10741 Western Rail News Network Sat, 27 Sep 2008 01:09:54 +0000 http://seattletransitblog.com/?p=1119#comment-10741 WESTERN RAIL NEWS NETWORK Special Edition September 2008 BNSF/PORT OF SEATTLE ONLY RECEIVE ONE BID TO OPERATE THE EASTSIDE CORRIDER RAIL LINE - STAKEHOLDERS HIGHLY CRITICAL OF PROCESS Bellevue, WA - The Port of Seattle announced today that it will begin negotiations with GNP/Ballard to provide freight and excursion rail service on the northern portion of the Eastside rail corridor. GNP/Ballard, a partnership between Byron Cole, who operates the Ballard Terminal and Meeker Southern Railroad, and Tom Payne, owner of GNP Railway, will pay the Port for use of the land, which runs from Snohomish and Woodinville. Today's public announcement by the Port of Seattle follows an email that was sent out yesterday by the Port (to key stakeholders) which indicated that the GNP/Ballard bid was the only one that the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway and the Port of Seattle received in response to the Request for Proposals. The selection of GNP/Ballard by the Port of Seattle to do freight and excursion rail service caught many by surprise as GNP Railway has been promoting a controversial proposal to run 6 to 12 private commuter rail trains a day on the line from Snohomish to Bellevue. The Port of Seattle has resisted GNP's proposal and had maintained that it only wants to have the line be used for freight and excursion train purposes. However, the selection of GNP/Ballard now leaves many wondering whether the Port of Seattle will reconsider its position and allow private commuter rail service on the line. In addition to the controversy over the possible allowance of private commuter rail service on the line, several groups are calling for an investigation of the Port of Seattle for its mismanagement of the RFP process. At a hastily put together Eastside Corridor stakeholder strategy meeting in Bellevue this morning (see attached photo), a number of key stakeholders expressed outrage about the Port of Seattle for its lack of openness regarding the RFP process, and many were asking why the Port only received one response to such an important RFP. "If the RFP process was so good, why did the Port of Seattle only get one response?" said Ron Parsons of Rail Specialists, Inc., a well-known rail industry consultant who has been openly critical that the Port of Seattle had given BNSF to much power in this RFP process and the Port didn't take any control or ownership of it. Bill Whitaker of Allied Transportation Group, who represents some of the shippers in the Bellevue-Snohomish area, indicated that he was highly concerned with lack of openness by the Port of Seattle and BNSF, and was shocked that there was only one bidder. "Anytime you only have one bidder, it calls into question the quality and integrity of the process....people like to have choices." Pat Williams of the Bellevue Citizens for Government Accountability said that his members were extremely disappointed that the Port of Seattle unilaterally chose to not allow the RFP to cover the Bellevue-Woodinville portion of the line. "What that says to us is that Port of Seattle doesn't care about rail between Woodinville and Bellevue.....no wonder they had only one bidder!" "This Port has shown blatant incompetence during this whole process and the taxpayers should be angry," stated Bill Jones of the Puget Sound Taxpayers Union. "The Port of Seattle has mislead King County taxpayers from the start about its plans for this rail corridor. The fact that only one bidder came forward clearly shows there were major problems with the RFP process." At the end of the meeting in Bellevue this morning, the various stakeholder groups vowed to push on and shine a bright light on the Port of Seattle concerning its mishandling of this process and to immediately get policymakers to intervene to repair the damage. ============================================= Copyright 2008 Western Rail News Network. All Rights Reserved. This email was sent to you by newsflash@westernrailnewsnetwork.com Please do not reply to this email. Email sent to this address cannot be answered. Western Rail News Network | Portland | Oregon | Ph: 503-590-9900
WESTERN RAIL NEWS NETWORK

Special Edition

September 2008

BNSF/PORT OF SEATTLE ONLY RECEIVE ONE BID TO OPERATE THE EASTSIDE CORRIDER RAIL LINE – STAKEHOLDERS HIGHLY CRITICAL OF PROCESS

Bellevue, WA – The Port of Seattle announced today that it will begin negotiations with GNP/Ballard to provide freight and excursion rail service on the northern portion of the Eastside rail corridor. GNP/Ballard, a partnership between Byron Cole, who operates the Ballard Terminal and Meeker Southern Railroad, and Tom Payne, owner of GNP Railway, will pay the Port for use of the land, which runs from Snohomish and Woodinville.

Today’s public announcement by the Port of Seattle follows an email that was sent out yesterday by the Port (to key stakeholders) which indicated that the GNP/Ballard bid was the only one that the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway and the Port of Seattle received in response to the Request for Proposals.

The selection of GNP/Ballard by the Port of Seattle to do freight and excursion rail service caught many by surprise as GNP Railway has been promoting a controversial proposal to run 6 to 12 private commuter rail trains a day on the line from Snohomish to Bellevue. The Port of Seattle has resisted GNP’s proposal and had maintained that it only wants to have the line be used for freight and excursion train purposes. However, the selection of GNP/Ballard now leaves many wondering whether the Port of Seattle will reconsider its position and allow private commuter rail service on the line.

In addition to the controversy over the possible allowance of private commuter rail service on the line, several groups are calling for an investigation of the Port of Seattle for its mismanagement of the RFP process. At a hastily put together Eastside Corridor stakeholder strategy meeting in Bellevue this morning (see attached photo), a number of key stakeholders expressed outrage about the Port of Seattle for its lack of openness regarding the RFP process, and many were asking why the Port only received one response to such an important RFP.

“If the RFP process was so good, why did the Port of Seattle only get one response?”
said Ron Parsons of Rail Specialists, Inc., a well-known rail industry consultant who has been openly critical that the Port of Seattle had given BNSF to much power in this RFP process and the Port didn’t take any control or ownership of it.

Bill Whitaker of Allied Transportation Group, who represents some of the shippers in the Bellevue-Snohomish area, indicated that he was highly concerned with lack of openness by the Port of Seattle and BNSF, and was shocked that there was only one bidder. “Anytime you only have one bidder, it calls into question the quality and integrity of the process….people like to have choices.”

Pat Williams of the Bellevue Citizens for Government Accountability said that his members were extremely disappointed that the Port of Seattle unilaterally chose to not allow the RFP to cover the Bellevue-Woodinville portion of the line. “What that says to us is that Port of Seattle doesn’t care about rail between Woodinville and Bellevue…..no wonder they had only one bidder!”

“This Port has shown blatant incompetence during this whole process and the taxpayers should be angry,” stated Bill Jones of the Puget Sound Taxpayers Union. “The Port of Seattle has mislead King County taxpayers from the start about its plans for this rail corridor. The fact that only one bidder came forward clearly shows there were major problems with the RFP process.”

At the end of the meeting in Bellevue this morning, the various stakeholder groups vowed to push on and shine a bright light on the Port of Seattle concerning its mishandling of this process and to immediately get policymakers to intervene to repair the damage.

=============================================

Copyright 2008 Western Rail News Network. All Rights Reserved.

This email was sent to you by newsflash@westernrailnewsnetwork.com

Please do not reply to this email. Email sent to this address cannot be answered.

Western Rail News Network | Portland | Oregon | Ph: 503-590-9900

]]> By: Bill Whitaker http://seattletransitblog.com/2008/09/25/bnsf-selects-gnpballard-to-serve-snohomish-county-shippers/#comment-10729 Bill Whitaker Fri, 26 Sep 2008 23:11:49 +0000 http://seattletransitblog.com/?p=1119#comment-10729 This was the only bid that the Port of Seattle received. The Port of Seattle's RFP was so bad, that nobody else bid on it. Bill
This was the only bid that the Port of Seattle received.

The Port of Seattle’s RFP was so bad, that nobody else bid on it.

Bill

]]> By: Brian Bundridge http://seattletransitblog.com/2008/09/25/bnsf-selects-gnpballard-to-serve-snohomish-county-shippers/#comment-10707 Brian Bundridge Fri, 26 Sep 2008 20:48:11 +0000 http://seattletransitblog.com/?p=1119#comment-10707 Whoops, I thought it wasn't a direct bus - I looked at the schedule. My bad =(
Whoops,

I thought it wasn’t a direct bus – I looked at the schedule. My bad =(

]]> By: Martin H. Duke http://seattletransitblog.com/2008/09/25/bnsf-selects-gnpballard-to-serve-snohomish-county-shippers/#comment-10649 Martin H. Duke Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:05:29 +0000 http://seattletransitblog.com/?p=1119#comment-10649 <i>But I am surprised that there isn’t an ST/CT bus that already cover a Everett - Bellevue route.</i> What are you talking about? The 532 runs Everett/Bellevue. I used to take it all the time.
But I am surprised that there isn’t an ST/CT bus that already cover a Everett – Bellevue route.

What are you talking about? The 532 runs Everett/Bellevue. I used to take it all the time.

]]> By: Brian Bundridge http://seattletransitblog.com/2008/09/25/bnsf-selects-gnpballard-to-serve-snohomish-county-shippers/#comment-10640 Brian Bundridge Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:01:45 +0000 http://seattletransitblog.com/?p=1119#comment-10640 It may or may not. Most thought that Sounder would fail and it's getting over 10,000 riders a day. Let's see what they are capable of before passing judgment. Though in my personal opinion to really make this work, trains need to depart Snohomish AND Everett to make this successful. But I am surprised that there isn't an ST/CT bus that already cover a Everett - Bellevue route.
It may or may not. Most thought that Sounder would fail and it’s getting over 10,000 riders a day. Let’s see what they are capable of before passing judgment.

Though in my personal opinion to really make this work, trains need to depart Snohomish AND Everett to make this successful.

But I am surprised that there isn’t an ST/CT bus that already cover a Everett – Bellevue route.

]]> By: Ben Schiendelman http://seattletransitblog.com/2008/09/25/bnsf-selects-gnpballard-to-serve-snohomish-county-shippers/#comment-10573 Ben Schiendelman Fri, 26 Sep 2008 02:13:33 +0000 http://seattletransitblog.com/?p=1119#comment-10573 My suspicion is that this will dead end very quickly.
My suspicion is that this will dead end very quickly.

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