SUNBURY – A judge has determined the SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority is not an ‘illegal monopoly,’ but the legal battle continues on another front. Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad (RBMN) filed suit last year claiming the JRA illegally competes with private enterprise and that their current Request for Proposal (RFP) process to award a new operating contract is unfair.
Northumberland County President Judge Charles Saylor threw out RBMN’s claim that the JRA is an illegal government monopoly. His ruling does, however, allow RBMN to pursue their claim as to the fairness of the RFP process.
Wayne Michel, president of RBMN, tells WKOK the railroad will, “vigorously pursue this legal action in order to prove the corruption and cronyism that is at the heart of how JRA has operated for over thirty years.”
JRA executive director Jeff Stover says RBMN was treated fairly throughout the first phase of the selection process. Further he says, “The court was bound by the factual allegations of the complaint and that further proceedings on this matter will reveal them to be meritless.”
RBMN did participate in the first round of the JRA’s two-phase RFP. The railroad’s score was not high enough for them to continue to the next phase. Michel says they are, “delighted that we now have the opportunity to pull back the curtain on this rogue operation.”
Judge Saylor’s ruling is just the latest in a series of legal entanglements related to the JRA’s RFP process. (Jennifer Wakeman)
