(The Associated Press circulated the following story on April 8.)
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad has invited the state to begin detailed negotiations on a contract to operate commuter passenger service between Big Lake and Minneapolis on its existing freight railroad tracks.
The invitation to discuss a contract for the Northstar rail line came after the railroad and Northstar officials narrowed the gap on their estimates of the cost of track and signal improvements needed to better accommodate passenger service without disrupting freight service.
The two sides had been millions of dollars apart. BNSF expected that $103 million in improvements would be necessary, while Northstar officials thought $52 million would be sufficient.
Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau asked the Northstar Corridor Development Authority, which represents counties and cities along the line, to try to bring the two sides closer together on costs.
Clifford Greene, a Minneapolis attorney for the Northstar group, said Wednesday that the railroad now estimates that a core set of improvements must be done at a cost of $51 million to $57 million. But Greene said the railroad agreed that another $38 million in improvements might be reduced or eliminated as discussions continue.
The revised estimates would keep the project within the cost-benefit outlines required by the Federal Transit Administration.
Molnau said in a letter to the railroad Wednesday that the Minnesota Department of Transportation accepts the railroad’s invitation to “proceed to detailed and specific negotiations aimed at producing the various agreements needed to make commuter rail a reality along the Northstar corridor.”
Although no commitments have been made, the railroad’s willingness to be flexible on costs and to enter into the next phase of discussions indicates the company’s optimism, Greene said.
Steve Forsberg, BNSF spokesman, said the railroad agrees with the report of progress.
“We are on the same page in terms of the range of numbers,” Forsberg said. “We have clearly expressed an offer to start substantive conversations about commuter service. There is still a great deal of work that needs to be done, but BNSF certainly has expressed a willingness to engage in those discussions.”
Gov. Tim Pawlenty is urging lawmakers to support his proposal to commit $37.5 million in state funding for the rail line as part of a bonding program this year.
Legislation that would authorize that bonding is still in committee in both the House and Senate.