Eastside Rail Corridor (BNSF) Issues & Status Relevant to ST2 13 May 2010 ST Board Capital Committee

Purpose of Today’s Briefing Review past studies Review corridor status Discuss ST2 capital contribution implementation process 2

3 Eastside BNSF Corridor 34-mile line from Coulon Park in Renton to City of Snohomish plus 7-mile spur line from Woodinville to Redmond –Segment south of Coulon Park to downtown Renton retained by BNSF Port of Seattle purchased corridor from BNSF in 2009

Recent Corridor Studies Sound Transit/PSRC Passenger Rail Feasibility Study (2008) directed by state legislature –Findings: feasible and could be a meaningful component of the regional transportation system PSRC BNSF Corridor Preservation Study (2007) –Findings: corridor should be preserved, segments should be rail-banked, passenger rail a medium-term use, support for trail 4

Port Ownership of Corridor Port acquired corridor from BNSF in 2009 –Retaining ownership of Snohomish County segment, granted easement and license to GNP Port is negotiating with partners to assume ownership of various rights, and to reimburse the Port’s acquisition costs Sound TransitKing County City of RedmondPSE Cascade Water Alliance 5

ST interests in the Corridor ST2 related: –Use of a segment in downtown Bellevue for East Link (ST2) –Public transportation easement over King Co. segments –Potential use for commuter rail service, as described in ST2 Long-Range Plan related: –Protection/preservation of ERC to allow eventual high capacity transit --- possibly in a future ST plan/phase 6

ST2 Plan $50M set aside for capital contribution to passenger rail partnership –If Board concurs that passenger rail provides a significant benefit to the district –Capital, limited to design or purchase of equipment and real estate, not operations –For a partnership for long-term passenger rail Partner(s) would implement and operate Funding expires if no partnership by 31 December 2011 When ST2 Plan was approved, there were no plans about ST being an owner of the corridor 7

Implementation Approach Issue RFP –Solicit partnership for passenger rail on the Eastside BNSF Corridor Determine whether there is a viable partner for passenger rail Provide information to public and partners considering other uses 8

RFP Timeline (Conceptual) Board guidance to staff: May 2010 Release of RFP: Late Summer 2010 Proposals received: January 2011 Evaluation complete, Decision whether to enter into negotiations: March 2011 Negotiations complete: July 2011 * Board approval/disapproval of potential contract: August 2011 * Expiration of funding (if no contract): 31 Dec 2011 * Only if Board decides to pursue a negotiated partnership 9

Implementation Approach (cont’d) Coordinate with King County regarding their regional public outreach process for a trail ST RFP process will inform the King County process 10

Next steps Board guidance to proceed with RFP Technical assistance from consultant for RFP Request for proposals –ST objectives and evaluation criteria –Enter negotiations if viable partnership is realized Board action on proposal prior to Dec 31, 2011 –Proposal must meet ST2 requirements, ensuring that: Ridership forecasts, financing plan, capital and operating cost estimates and operating plan are reasonable Service will provide substantial benefits to the regional transportation system 11

12 Questions?