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Draft Status Report on the Northstar Commuter Rail Project. June 7, 2001 <br /> <br />Minneapolis Junction. <br /> <br />(c) December 5, 2000. Conference call with Matt Rose, et al., <br />confirming that the key omissions include improvements around <br />Minneapolis Junction and that the focus of negotiations should be <br />on the scope and not the costs of the project. (See also letter from <br />Carl Ice, BNSF, dated December 5, 2000 and response from <br />Yantos and Mukhtar Thakur, dated December 13, 2000.) <br /> <br />(d) January 5, 2001. Letter to Betsy Wergin from Cecil Selness, <br />Mn/DOT, notifying the NCDA of Mn/Dot's intent to take over the <br />control and project management of the Northstar commuter rail <br />project. Mn/DOT copied Matt Rose, Carl Ice, and DJ Mitchell at <br />BNSF. <br /> <br />(e) January 19, 2001. Mn/DOT and NCDA team met with BNSF <br />in Fort Worth. BNSF changed its position asserting that the entire <br />BNSF list of previously identified capacity improvements were <br />necessary for commuter rail. The parties agreed that additional <br />modeling was necessary to resolve disputes over modeling <br />practices and inputs. It was further agreed that the parties would <br />utilize yet another new simulation model. "Rail Traffic Coordinator, <br />(RTC), and would identify and agree to procedures for resolving <br />disputes. <br /> <br />(f) On February 23, 2001, MLM met with BNSF to discuss the <br />BNSF data conversion and standards development for modeling <br />the Northstar Corridor with Rail Traffic Coordinator (RTC). MLM <br />found the model conversion incomplete and the standards lacking <br />in clarity. In general, operating restrictions and assumptions were <br />deemed overly restrictive. The Feb. 26 memorandum to T. Yantos <br />from Bob Patton, MLM< provides the BNSF Northstar Operating <br />Assumptions and the MLM analysis. <br /> <br />(g) On March 28, MLM again met with BNSF to review RTC <br />model criteria. The updated BNSF Northstar Operating <br />Assumptions as well as MLM analysis and critique of those <br />assumptions is included in the March 29 memo from Bob Patton, <br />MLM to Mukhtar Thakur, Mn/DOT. The MLM conclusion is that <br />"BNSF's latest requirements are more stringent than any we have <br />previously received." <br /> <br />Northstar Corridor Development Authority 34 <br /> <br /> <br />