Columbia Basin Railroad named busiest shortline in eastern Washington

According to a recent Washington State Freight and Goods Transportation System report published by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), the Columbia Basin Railroad line from Connell to Moses Lake/Wheeler, Wash., is the busiest shortline in eastern Washington.

With all of the economic development that has been occurring in Grant County and Adams County over the past few years, Columbia Basin Railroad has become one of the busiest shortlines in the sate of Washington, hauling more than 10,000 carloads annually of various agricultural and industrial commodities and other cargo for 60 active rail shippers in the Columbia Basin. More importantly, the various shippers or companies that haul cargo on Columbia Basin Railroad employ nearly 7,000 people in Grant and Adams Counties. By comparison, most other shortlines in Washington handle much less tonnage and are classified R3 and R4 lines. Columbia Basin Railroad is considered an R2 Freight Rail Corridor, which handles one million to five million tons per year.

Last year, Columbia Basin Railroad began bringing 110-car unit trains of canola seed to Pacific Coast Canola’s crushing and oil refining facility at the Port of Warden in Washington, which is the first commercial-scale canola seed crushing operation west of the Rocky Mountains.

“Having the ability to bring in unit trains into Warden on the Columbia Basin Railroad line to service companies such as Pacific Coast Canola is helping to establish the Port of Warden as a key location in eastern Washington to handle freight and it is pivotal for our economic development and will provide low cost options, which are critical for companies to competitively ship their goods to and from Warden,” stated Dale Pomeroy, commissioner, Port of Warden.

Columbia Basin Railroad also supports the Port of Moses Lake’s Northern Columbia Basin Railroad Project, which is a critical economic development, job creation and freight mobility project that will enhance and improve rail access to vital industries in the northern Columbia Basin area. In particular, the Northern Columbia Basin Railroad Project will provide expanded freight rail service to the Moses Lake area, from the Wheeler Road Corridor across town to the Port of Moses Lake’s Grant County International Airport Industrial Area. In addition, the project is integral to preserving existing manufacturing jobs and related investment in central Washington, while helping to bring new business opportunities, job creation and economic development to the region.

While the increasing business and economic development on the Columbia Basin Railroad line is very positive, because of the growth in rail traffic of all types of freight and commodities on the line, there are some infrastructure issues that will need be addressed at the Connell, Wash., rail interchange, which is where the Columbia Basin Railroad line intersects with BNSF mainline. As a result, there have been discussions among various organizations, such as the Great Northern Corridor Coalition, the WSDOT, the Washington State Department of Commerce, the Grant County Economic Development Council and the Adams County Development Council about how to address the additional infrastructure needs at the Connell Rail Interchange.