Railroad Drops Plan For Freight Terminal

Building a major rail freight terminal in Auburn is “no longer a serious possibility,” a Burlington Northern Santa Fe executive says.

Michael Holsteen, a railroad vice president, made the comment Aug. 23 in a sworn statement to the federal Surface Transportation Board.

The city of Auburn has been fighting the proposed terminal, saying it would violate zoning laws and clog streets with truck traffic.

“We are hoping this statement is true,” Paul Krauss, Auburn’s planning director, said Thursday. “I guess it is not consistent with what we have heard to date.”

Holsteen told the federal panel that the railroad believes it would be more efficient to use its existing terminal in south Seattle.

Krauss said he received a copy of Holsteen’s statement a week ago from a Washington, D.C., attorney representing the city before the federal board.

However, Dick Russack, a railroad spokesman in Fort Worth, said Thursday that Burlington Northern has not changed its position that it only is delaying a decision on the Auburn yard.

“Our position we enunciated is that we will put off making any decision until late 1997,” he said.