Unit rails and high-tech proposed for port of Quincy
Unit rails and high-tech proposed for port of Quincy
Stakeholders on the federal, state and local levels are anticipating major economic changes to the port of Quincy, WA, in 2006 with the possibility the port will be selected as a demonstration site for a new refrigerated railcar hub. In addition, technology giants Microsoft and Yahoo have each expressed interest in locating "server farms," or massive Internet server storage facilities, in Quincy.
"From our standpoint, all these things are good," said Pat Boss, business and public affairs adviser for the port of Quincy, who added that while other locations are being considered for the rail hub site, Quincy is the leading contender.
Mr. Boss went on to say that the immediate impact to the predominantly agricultural area by such rail service would be expansion of transportation opportunities for growers and shippers.
Grower-shippers have long relied on trucking companies, some of which have either gone out of business or passed along skyrocketing transportation costs to their customers. And one aspect that makes the prospect of refrigerated rail so attractive is a back-haul network that could prove to be cost-effective for the grower-shippers, Mr. Boss said.
In 2003, the Washington state Legislature approved legislation giving the state's department of transportation authority to establish the Washington Refrigerated Railcar Program.
During 2004 and 2005, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA) and state Sen. Joyce Mulliken (R-13) successfully lobbied Congress and the Washington Legislature for $2.2 million to facilitate leasing and purchasing of refrigerated railcars and equipment.
Recently, Mr. Boss and port of Quincy Commissioner Patric Connelly traveled to Washington, DC, to spearhead an effort to obtain an additional $2.2 million in the FY 2007 appropriations bill to fund lengthening the port's rail siding from approximately 3,000 feet to 7,500 feet.
Mr. Boss said that the expansion will allow for suitable storage siding to handle unit trains for travel through the north-central Washington/northern Columbia Basin. The siding gives longer trains the ability to pull off main lines, pick up container cars and keep the rail lines free for other trains.
He said that the unit trains will be operated by the Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway.
"Unit trains are great for produce," Mr. Boss told The Produce News. Containers are packed at one location, the train is "built," and then "they hook and haul."
He said, "Under the current system, manifest trains must stop and load. Shippers would have dedicated service for produce growers [under the new program]."
And he said that with 24 trains passing through Quincy every day, the refrigerated car service makes sense. Initial plans call for one 30-car train to be packed at the port of Quincy per week.
"We must prove the initial threshold to prove this can be done. If we can load one car in a week, the next step would be to add more trains," Mr. Boss said.
The proposed system has the ability to help the fresh, processed and foodservice markets move refrigerated product between Seattle and Chicago -- the termination point for the Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway. Transit times include windows of five to seven days at the latest, addressing shipper concerns about perishable product transit times.
Mr. Boss said that the new refrigerated car system is similar to Railex.
"The lines are different, but we support the Railex concept," he said, noting that Railex is operated by the Union Pacific Railway and the two entities will not be competitors.
The state of Washington has contracted with consultant Rail Logistics in Overland Park, KS, for a 10-year pilot project. Rail Logistics will manage 75 refurbished railcars in the program, deal with transit and departure times and troubleshoot problems.
"We're trying to take away some of the issues that plague rail. We want to create an environment to lure people back to rail," Mr. Boss stated. "The high cost of freighting will be problematic in five years."
Port authorities, government representatives and grower- shippers met March 30 at the port of Quincy, and Mr. Boss said, "We had a large crowd there who agreed if problems can be mitigated, it will make it easier for shippers to use rail."
Some of the problems discussed were lack of reliability, timely shipment and falling confidence levels in rail service.
"Rail is already cheaper, but people feel trucks are more dependable. Rail is more efficient because shipping is by volume," he said.
News of the program's potential is humming on rail lines at the same time technology giants Microsoft and Yahoo are looking to sign deals for "server farms" in the Quincy area.
Mr. Boss said that the unofficial word was that Microsoft was set to sign on April 7 to buy 74 acres in one of Quincy's industrial parks, and he said that the company plans to phase in the facility over the next four years. Plans have already been filed for approximately six buildings occupying 1.5 million square feet, and Mr. Boss said that Microsoft plans to hire about 100 employees in an area bounded by Lake Moses, Quincy, Allensburg and Wenatchee.
"They're not going to be competing against agriculture," Mr. Boss said of the new technology employees.
Yahoo has also signed a tentative agreement to purchase 50 acres in Quincy for a similar purpose and has executed a 10-year agreement to set up a data center in Wenatchee. Mr. Boss feels confident about the boost these high-tech companies will give to rail service in Quincy.
"They will have to bring servers in from Asia to Seattle, and then on rail to Quincy," Mr. Boss stated. "It creates a synergy with outbound [rail]. We're looking at a very positive ag benefit," he said.
Noting that servers are turned over every three to four years, Mr. Boss said that it could mean considerable new railcarton traffic coming into Quincy. The average carton holds 40,000 pounds, and he said, and "we want to attract a unit train to create opportunity [to backhaul] to the East or Seattle. Microsoft in Quincy's backyard puts Quincy on the map."
"From our standpoint, all these things are good," said Pat Boss, business and public affairs adviser for the port of Quincy, who added that while other locations are being considered for the rail hub site, Quincy is the leading contender.
Mr. Boss went on to say that the immediate impact to the predominantly agricultural area by such rail service would be expansion of transportation opportunities for growers and shippers.
Grower-shippers have long relied on trucking companies, some of which have either gone out of business or passed along skyrocketing transportation costs to their customers. And one aspect that makes the prospect of refrigerated rail so attractive is a back-haul network that could prove to be cost-effective for the grower-shippers, Mr. Boss said.
In 2003, the Washington state Legislature approved legislation giving the state's department of transportation authority to establish the Washington Refrigerated Railcar Program.
During 2004 and 2005, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA) and state Sen. Joyce Mulliken (R-13) successfully lobbied Congress and the Washington Legislature for $2.2 million to facilitate leasing and purchasing of refrigerated railcars and equipment.
Recently, Mr. Boss and port of Quincy Commissioner Patric Connelly traveled to Washington, DC, to spearhead an effort to obtain an additional $2.2 million in the FY 2007 appropriations bill to fund lengthening the port's rail siding from approximately 3,000 feet to 7,500 feet.
Mr. Boss said that the expansion will allow for suitable storage siding to handle unit trains for travel through the north-central Washington/northern Columbia Basin. The siding gives longer trains the ability to pull off main lines, pick up container cars and keep the rail lines free for other trains.
He said that the unit trains will be operated by the Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway.
"Unit trains are great for produce," Mr. Boss told The Produce News. Containers are packed at one location, the train is "built," and then "they hook and haul."
He said, "Under the current system, manifest trains must stop and load. Shippers would have dedicated service for produce growers [under the new program]."
And he said that with 24 trains passing through Quincy every day, the refrigerated car service makes sense. Initial plans call for one 30-car train to be packed at the port of Quincy per week.
"We must prove the initial threshold to prove this can be done. If we can load one car in a week, the next step would be to add more trains," Mr. Boss said.
The proposed system has the ability to help the fresh, processed and foodservice markets move refrigerated product between Seattle and Chicago -- the termination point for the Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway. Transit times include windows of five to seven days at the latest, addressing shipper concerns about perishable product transit times.
Mr. Boss said that the new refrigerated car system is similar to Railex.
"The lines are different, but we support the Railex concept," he said, noting that Railex is operated by the Union Pacific Railway and the two entities will not be competitors.
The state of Washington has contracted with consultant Rail Logistics in Overland Park, KS, for a 10-year pilot project. Rail Logistics will manage 75 refurbished railcars in the program, deal with transit and departure times and troubleshoot problems.
"We're trying to take away some of the issues that plague rail. We want to create an environment to lure people back to rail," Mr. Boss stated. "The high cost of freighting will be problematic in five years."
Port authorities, government representatives and grower- shippers met March 30 at the port of Quincy, and Mr. Boss said, "We had a large crowd there who agreed if problems can be mitigated, it will make it easier for shippers to use rail."
Some of the problems discussed were lack of reliability, timely shipment and falling confidence levels in rail service.
"Rail is already cheaper, but people feel trucks are more dependable. Rail is more efficient because shipping is by volume," he said.
News of the program's potential is humming on rail lines at the same time technology giants Microsoft and Yahoo are looking to sign deals for "server farms" in the Quincy area.
Mr. Boss said that the unofficial word was that Microsoft was set to sign on April 7 to buy 74 acres in one of Quincy's industrial parks, and he said that the company plans to phase in the facility over the next four years. Plans have already been filed for approximately six buildings occupying 1.5 million square feet, and Mr. Boss said that Microsoft plans to hire about 100 employees in an area bounded by Lake Moses, Quincy, Allensburg and Wenatchee.
"They're not going to be competing against agriculture," Mr. Boss said of the new technology employees.
Yahoo has also signed a tentative agreement to purchase 50 acres in Quincy for a similar purpose and has executed a 10-year agreement to set up a data center in Wenatchee. Mr. Boss feels confident about the boost these high-tech companies will give to rail service in Quincy.
"They will have to bring servers in from Asia to Seattle, and then on rail to Quincy," Mr. Boss stated. "It creates a synergy with outbound [rail]. We're looking at a very positive ag benefit," he said.
Noting that servers are turned over every three to four years, Mr. Boss said that it could mean considerable new railcarton traffic coming into Quincy. The average carton holds 40,000 pounds, and he said, and "we want to attract a unit train to create opportunity [to backhaul] to the East or Seattle. Microsoft in Quincy's backyard puts Quincy on the map."
