Rail Thin: Freight Train Traffic Is Booming …

Washington has a freight mobility issue. Two of them, actually.

The one youve heard about involves rubber tires on concrete and asphalt, lines of cars, trucks and buses, and the need to build more roads to accommodate those vehicles. You wont get much argument from people who navigate such rolling parking lots as I-405 between Renton and Bellevue or I-5 near Joint Base Lewis-McChord that road capacity, not having kept up with growth in passenger and freight volumes, is an issue. The debate comes over whether theres any fix that wouldnt be obsolete before its done, and who gets to pay what for such fixes should they be attempted.

Now try unsnarling a transportation system in which each of the vehicles can be a mile long a system that is already overburdened with such vehicles, with even more on the way. Thats what you have with Washingtons freight-rail system.

The average Washingtonian rarely deals directly with the rail system. Most businesses have little direct interaction with freight rail, either. Those that do have direct experience know just how acute is the squeeze on freight capacity, as in the case of fresh- and frozen-food shippers using the Cold Train, an expedited service from the Port of Quincy in eastern Washington to Midwest and East Coast markets. The service was abruptly canceled this summer after a schedule change by BNSF Railway, which, the port says, stretched delivery times from three days to six. BNSF says it made the adjustment to reflect transit times more accurately. The railroad and the port both blame the delays on an increase in traffic volume.

The parties scrambled to find a new operator to resume service this fall, but even if they do, it still leaves the overarching issue of too many trains trying to fit on not enough track. To an existing base of trains hauling containers and grain, BNSF is adding oil and coal traffic, both bound for West Coast refineries and ports.

More export terminals are being proposed, and even if theyre never built, more traffic is coming. Western Washingtons refineries have added capacity to handle more unit trains from North Dakotas Bakken shale formation. The Port of Portland recently announced a propane export terminal to handle shipments from Alberta. Port Metro Vancouver, already home to a large coal export operation, announced another to be built at Fraser Surrey Docks. Add to that whatever growth comes from grain and containers, and you have the makings of some epic backups.

By nature of its history and physical makeup, the rail system is even more prone to choke points than the highway system. The Pacific Northwest has plenty. Theres the single-track line that BNSF, Union Pacific and Amtrak trains share through the tunnels near Point Defiance in Tacoma. And theres the single-track bridge across Idahos Lake Pend Oreille, creating a feature known throughout rail fandom as The Funnel.

To these bottlenecks the industry has added its own capacity-trimming measures, in some cases taking out second tracks on the theory that mergers or declining volume made them redundant, in other cases abandoning or selling off branch lines. In the 1980s, the former Burlington Northern figured it didnt need Stampede Pass and sold off the connecting line on the eastern slope through the Yakima Valley. It reversed course in the 1990s, bought back the line and reopened the tunnel, although it still wont accommodate double-stack containers.

But you neednt go that far to see rail capacity removed. Witness the haste of the Port of Seattle, King County and some cities to yank out a rail line on the Eastside.

Projects are in the works to remove some of the pinch points, such as moving Amtrak Cascades service from the waterside along the Tacoma Narrows to an inland route to get passenger and freight rail out of each others way. Other tactics include more grade separations more overpasses and underpasses and positive train control technology to improve rail safety.

But it wont be inexpensive. Railroads consume capital more voraciously than they consume fuel, and political will at least as much as capital. Getting traffic moving on the rails and highways is a grand idea, until the time comes to pay for it. Then, for all concerned (and for those who dont know yet, it is their concern), the time-honored question is this: Whats it worth to you?

Monthly contributor Bill Virgin is the founder and owner of Northwest Newsletter Group, which publishes Washington Manufacturing Alert and Pacific Northwest Rail News.