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TRACKSIDE TALK

by Mike Skehan

If you look way down the track and listen very carefully, you can hear Sounders #408 rounding the Puyallup bend, heading north to Sumner. This is the last morning run and the second of the day for the BN crew heading for home. Shiny bi-level coaches carry mostly commuters to begin their days work. Some read, some gaze at the approaching river, and many nap in the comfort of highback, upholstered seats as the train roars past autos on Highway 167, mostly with only a single passenger, inching along like a line of snails.

Reality?, well not yet, but not that far off either! Service will begin just 19 short months from now. There seems to be an endless list of things to do. Property to purchase, permits to obtain, engineers and architects to put community dreams on paper, contractors to order materials and craftsmen to assemble the pieces into reality, trains to order and build, fare machines, operators, track and signal improvements, and paperwork that never ends. This is the task given to Mr. Price and a staff of eight. Can they pull it off. My guess is yes, but they need all the support we can give them. When you see them at a nighttime meetings, realize this is a very long day for them, and thank them for their commitment to the project.

We in the section are committed to the project, and look forward to helping the RTA bring a new rail system on line. Our goal is to help make this among the best systems in the nation, one that works so well, that people will demand more and more service, with options to travel via rail during all times of the day to many destinations. Not such a bad dream, is it?

Want to help turn the dream into fact? Get involved, join the section, be active in your community, join one of the RTA's technical advisory committees, offer suggestions for ways to get people out of their cars and onto a rail. I'll help you get involved, if you like. Please contact me via E-mail by using the email button below.

In other news, the section meeting at Andy's diner was a big success. The workshop for May 27 is coming together nicely, with the formation of a sub-committee to continue the planning. Stan Suchan of the DOT spoke to the section on the possible Amtrak stop at Tukwila and how we can help. A resolution was passed to draft a letter stating the sections support for a combined RTA/Amtrak station serving the Green River Valley. This is something we want to see become a reality, and is part of the vision we have for the "rail renaissance" in the Puget Sound.

Andy's Caboose car can still hold more rail supporters, and the food is pretty good too, so see you at our next meeting, January 21^st , diner at 6:30 and meeting starting at 7:00.

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Last Update: 11/26/00
Web Author: Warren Y. Yee