They're just throwing their weight around. There's essentially an unholy alliance between the federal and state transportation agencies and the railroad, said Tim Wahl, Greenway program coordinator for the Bellingham Parks and Recreation Department. I honestly don't believe it's particularly based on sound reasoning. Melonas said he is not aware of any other barriers at this time. Melonas also explained that BNSF's restrictive stance on Bellingham's questioned at-grade crossings is a universal issue.
Track is track.
Railroad property is railroad property, he said. If this was the case anywhere across our 33,500 mile area, similar actions could occur. Our goal is zero tolerance and this is part of our program. This isn't the first time this situation has come up in Washington, Melonas added. We're not just picking on Bellingham.