Reading & Northern Railroad news release:
Reading & Northern Railroad Challenges Local No Bid Contract
Port Clinton, PA, May 29, 2015- Reading & Northern Railroad reiterated its intention to force the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority to put its rail operations up for bid.
Yesterday the current operator, Delaware Lackawanna Railroad, announced that it just renewed its operating contract for another five years. The current contract, which expires in late August 2015, was renewed by PNRRA without offering any party an opportunity to bid.
Eighteen months ago RBMN wrote to PNRRA requesting the opportunity to bid. RBMN noted that PNRRA had not put this contract out to bid since 1993. RBMN noted it was the largest privately-owned railroad in Pennsylvania and was already serving many customers in Scranton, RBMN guaranteed improved service, more money to the taxpayers, no rate increases to the customers and full support for passenger service along the route. Despite these assurances PNRRA refused to consider a bid and instead chose to renew the DL contract.
RBMN promptly filed a lawsuit against PNRRA asserting numerous violations of state law. Over the last year PNRRA has spent over $300,000 of taxpayer money to defend its right not to put this contract out for bid.
Earlier this week RBMN notified the PNRRA board that RBMN would continue to challenge these decisions for as long as it would take. Rather than work with RBMN to put this contract out for bid it is now apparent that PNRRA intends to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars more in order to preserve its right to be one of the only public owners of a freight railroad in the nation.
RBMN is the nation's most honored regional railroad having just been named 2015 Regional Railroad of the Year by Railway Age magazine. RBMN is the only railroad to win that award three times.