(The following story by Jonathan Nelson appeared on The Columbian website on January 15.)
COLUMBIA, Wash. — The tracks on the 33-mile Chel atchie Prairie Railroad are still woefully inadequate and an operator for the southern portion of the line continues to lose money.
Yet this train line that couldn’t is now an incubator for Clark County industrial business and an outlet valve for rail congestion problems, according to Eric Temple, president of the Portland Vancouver Junction Railroad, a division of Yakima-based Columbia Basin Railroad Co. Temple’s company signed a 30-year lease with Clark County, the railroad’s owner, to operate and maintain the 14 miles of track between Vancouver and Battle Ground.
Business on what the industry calls a short line has gone from 69 cars in 2004, the year Columbia Basin signed the lease, to 700 in 2007. Temple expects this year’s figure to surpass 1,000 cars, a threshold that requires the company to pay the county a royalty for each additional car.
Columbia Basin has purchased three acres along the tracks that could eventually become distribution centers and is looking for more land to boost rail traffic. Temple sees the potential to move beyond the agriculture products it handles to include plastics, propane and aggregate like sand. That could push freight traffic to 10,0 00 cars a year, he said.
Track condition
The biggest obstacle to Temple’s ultimate goal – running a dinner train along the line – is the dismal condition of the tracks. Decades of neglect have left the steel and ties so deteriorated that trains don’t exceed 10 mph. Temple said the rail bed needs to be shored up and a heavier gauge of rail installed. He estimates the repair costs are close to $20 million.
The maintenance work is coming in small increments as Temple cobbles together government funding, $1.4 million so far, and revenue from freight business.
Despite the slow repair schedule, the rail line has gone from a line that many (BNSF and others) wanted to see closed, to a viable operation that is alleviating train congestion on the main BNSF line that runs north and south on the West Coast, Temple said.
“There were no business demands at the time when BNSF determined to discontinue operations on the line,” said Gus Melonas, BNSF spokesman. “This rail line, with the area growth, now provides a significant transportation corridor for continued economic growth and development in Clark County.”
Food Express usage
Marc Widing, manager for the Vancouver terminal of California-based Food Express, began using the Portland Vancouver railroad service two years ago when BNSF upped its track usage fee. Widing said Temple’s company offered a needed alternative.
“I don’t know what we would have done without the short line,” Widing said.
He estimates that the Portland Vancouver company handles about 30 percent of Food Express’ shipping needs in the region.
Customers like Food Express are getting Temple’s focus for the near future.
“We’re focusing our maintenance dollars into the areas with the most freight growth,” he said.
Update
Previously:
The operators of the southern section of the Chelatchie Prairie Railroad ended 2007 with 700 freight cars using the 14-mile section of track.
What’s new:
The company, Columbia Basin Railroad, expects to surpass the 1,000-car threshold this year.
What’s next:
The Yakima-based Columbia Basin is developing industrial land along the line to increase business.