Watco’s Boise Valley Railroad begins operations

Watco Transportation Services, Inc., began operations of a new railroad, the Boise Valley Railroad on November 23. Additional manpower and locomotive resources were on hand to provide effective first day service on both the 11-mile Wilder Branch and the 25-mile Boise Cut-off. Each job left the yard with more than 40 railcars.

"Safe
and effective service to our rail Customers is paramount to our business model,"
said John Brown , chief operating officer for Watco’s West Region. "Providing
initial start up rail services that add value to our customers day one was our
goal."

There
are 84 customers who will be served by the BVRR, several of which are currently
customers of Watco’s Eastern Idaho Railroad, Great Northwest Railroad and
Yellowstone Valley Railroad.

Commodities
shipped on the branches include potatoes, lumber, fertilizer and fuels.

The
BVRR’s Wilder Branch runs from Wilder to Caldwell, Idaho and the Boise Cut Off
runs from Nampa to just southeast of Boise, Idaho. The BVRR has also obtained
trackage rights from Nampa to Caldwell, Idaho, from the Union Pacific.