“Let’s keep the dinner train running,” said Councilmember Bob Ferguson. “The dinner train is an important economic engine for our community and should be allowed to operate during negotiations without fear of interruption.”

“Last summer I called the dinner train a cultural and economic pillar of the community,” said Councilmember Reagan Dunn. “Without an extension of the lease agreement, that pillar is on shaky ground. Until a conclusion is reached on the purchase, I don’t want to see anything impact train service.”

In a letter to BNSF Assistant Vice President James J. O’Neil, the Councilmembers stressed that without an extension, dinner train operators are unable to accept reservations past November 2006, when the current lease expires. The letter states that “the lack of uncertainty for the current users on the line will harm our ability to come to a mutually acceptable conclusion” on negotiations for the county’s purchase of the eastside rail corridor.

“We are faced with an exciting opportunity to acquire the BNSF corridor into public ownership,” said Councilmember Julia Patterson, chair of the Puget Sound Regional Council's Corridor Advisory Committee, a group of city, business and non-profit leaders with an interest in the corridor. "I believe in a ‘rails with trails’ plan that expands upon the current uses and provides trails for bikers and pedestrians. The overall width of the corridor provides the opportunity for multiple uses, including the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train."

Last May, the Executive announced his intention to purchase the rail corridor, which stretches from Renton through Bellevue, Kirkland and Woodinville, with a final stop in the city of Snohomish. Councilmembers Dunn and Patterson have expressed their support for a purchase agreement that would allow for multiple uses of the corridor, including the ability for the Spirit of Washington to continue operations on the rail line.