Intra-Washington refrigerated intermodal train service plan scrapped, Pat Boss says
Intra-Washington refrigerated intermodal train service plan scrapped, Pat Boss says
In early November letters to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, Washington consultant Pat Boss asked the two political leaders to "urge [Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad] to immediately reinstate its dedicated refrigerated intermodal service in central Washington to avoid a potential crisis situation for perishable shipments to Seattle and Tacoma."
Mr. Boss, who represents the Central Washington Alliance for Rail Freight Transportation, said that he wrote the letters in protest of BNSF's mid-October decision to drop the intermodal plan.
When contacted Nov. 9 for comment, BNSF spokesperson Suann Lundsberg told The Produce News, "We've never had an intermodal service [for the central Washington area that encompasses Quincy and Wenatchee]."
Ms. Lundsberg went on to say that "years ago we had a service, and we have been talking with Northwest Container Services about transportation solutions, but in terms of actual service, it just didn't exist."
Mr. Boss responded to Ms. Lundsberg's statement by saying, "They offered a service plan. The plan was out there. Initially there weren't enough containers, and when we got enough containers, BNSF said they couldn't [provide service due to shortage of engines]."
He continued, "Northwest Container Services had a contract with BNSF, and BNSF was supposed to have a dedicated line. Everyone expected to have dedicated service this fall. The railroad can play semantics if they want to, but they had a service agreement. They never actually had a train move, but they promised that several would. Our goal was to ship [fresh product recently harvested] between August and December, and we can't now."
Both Mr. Boss and Art Scheunemann, senior vice president of business development for Northwest Container Services, will attend a Nov. 14 National Intermodal Conference in Los Angeles and have set up a meeting with BNSF.
Mr. Scheunemann told The Produce News Nov. 8 that the Portland-based company had been waiting for the service design plan from BNSF in order to go forward with the project.
Moreover, Mr. Scheunemann concurred with Mr. Boss, saying that a service agreement had been signed by Northwest Container Services CEO Cary Cardwell and a BNSF official in 2003.
"We do have a signed service agreement with proposed rates for various sizes of intermodal containers," Mr. Scheunemann said. "We, along with the port of Quincy, built the facility."
The loading facility at the port of Quincy is a public facility, Mr. Scheunemann said, and he added that the multi-million dollar facility is now staffed and ready for operations.
"BNSF checked off on the facility," he added.
"I think in fairness we should say there's no service at the present time, but there is a facility that was built specifically for this, and on the strength of the agreement [with BNSF] we pursued additional federal funds. To imply there's no interest [in the agreement] is a little bit remarkable," Mr. Scheunemann continued.
"Northwest Container Services has always had a good relationship with BNSF, but we're a little confused," he said. "And the service design plan is necessary for us to pull the trigger. We have customers out there waiting."
The location of the service from the Quincy/Wenatchee region of Washington would accommodate much of the state's apple, potato and onion export tonnage. Mr. Boss said that upwards of 40 percent of Washington's french fries, apples and onions are exported, representing "hundreds of thousands of loads that have to go by truck or rail."
The timing for BNSF's decision to drop the dedicated service is "especially troubling for perishable and refrigerated shippers as Snoqualmie Pass (Interstate 90) has been closed indefinitely for rockslides," Mr. Boss said in his letters.
He also wrote that although "BNSF has indicated it might be willing to replace the dedicated refrigerated intermodal train service with a merchandise or manifest train, we are greatly concerned that the service being proposed by BNSF would not be as dependable or as consistent as an intermodal train. As large volumes of refrigerated commodities are shipped from central Washington to the Puget Sound for export, a less dependable service will adversely impact perishable or refrigerated shippers."
And, Mr. Boss said, "The perishable shippers are all incredibly frustrated."
For Northwest Container Services' part, Mr. Scheunemann concluded, "We don't want this to turn into a white elephant."
Mr. Boss, who represents the Central Washington Alliance for Rail Freight Transportation, said that he wrote the letters in protest of BNSF's mid-October decision to drop the intermodal plan.
When contacted Nov. 9 for comment, BNSF spokesperson Suann Lundsberg told The Produce News, "We've never had an intermodal service [for the central Washington area that encompasses Quincy and Wenatchee]."
Ms. Lundsberg went on to say that "years ago we had a service, and we have been talking with Northwest Container Services about transportation solutions, but in terms of actual service, it just didn't exist."
Mr. Boss responded to Ms. Lundsberg's statement by saying, "They offered a service plan. The plan was out there. Initially there weren't enough containers, and when we got enough containers, BNSF said they couldn't [provide service due to shortage of engines]."
He continued, "Northwest Container Services had a contract with BNSF, and BNSF was supposed to have a dedicated line. Everyone expected to have dedicated service this fall. The railroad can play semantics if they want to, but they had a service agreement. They never actually had a train move, but they promised that several would. Our goal was to ship [fresh product recently harvested] between August and December, and we can't now."
Both Mr. Boss and Art Scheunemann, senior vice president of business development for Northwest Container Services, will attend a Nov. 14 National Intermodal Conference in Los Angeles and have set up a meeting with BNSF.
Mr. Scheunemann told The Produce News Nov. 8 that the Portland-based company had been waiting for the service design plan from BNSF in order to go forward with the project.
Moreover, Mr. Scheunemann concurred with Mr. Boss, saying that a service agreement had been signed by Northwest Container Services CEO Cary Cardwell and a BNSF official in 2003.
"We do have a signed service agreement with proposed rates for various sizes of intermodal containers," Mr. Scheunemann said. "We, along with the port of Quincy, built the facility."
The loading facility at the port of Quincy is a public facility, Mr. Scheunemann said, and he added that the multi-million dollar facility is now staffed and ready for operations.
"BNSF checked off on the facility," he added.
"I think in fairness we should say there's no service at the present time, but there is a facility that was built specifically for this, and on the strength of the agreement [with BNSF] we pursued additional federal funds. To imply there's no interest [in the agreement] is a little bit remarkable," Mr. Scheunemann continued.
"Northwest Container Services has always had a good relationship with BNSF, but we're a little confused," he said. "And the service design plan is necessary for us to pull the trigger. We have customers out there waiting."
The location of the service from the Quincy/Wenatchee region of Washington would accommodate much of the state's apple, potato and onion export tonnage. Mr. Boss said that upwards of 40 percent of Washington's french fries, apples and onions are exported, representing "hundreds of thousands of loads that have to go by truck or rail."
The timing for BNSF's decision to drop the dedicated service is "especially troubling for perishable and refrigerated shippers as Snoqualmie Pass (Interstate 90) has been closed indefinitely for rockslides," Mr. Boss said in his letters.
He also wrote that although "BNSF has indicated it might be willing to replace the dedicated refrigerated intermodal train service with a merchandise or manifest train, we are greatly concerned that the service being proposed by BNSF would not be as dependable or as consistent as an intermodal train. As large volumes of refrigerated commodities are shipped from central Washington to the Puget Sound for export, a less dependable service will adversely impact perishable or refrigerated shippers."
And, Mr. Boss said, "The perishable shippers are all incredibly frustrated."
For Northwest Container Services' part, Mr. Scheunemann concluded, "We don't want this to turn into a white elephant."
