Quincy port hosts info meeting

Session to address state refrigerated rail car program

QUINCY — The Port of Quincy is hosting a meeting with perishable shippers and frozen processors next week.

In cooperation with the Washington State Department of Transportation and Rail Logistics, LC, of Overland Park, Kan., the meeting will be held Thursday at 1 p.m. at the port, located at 202 G St. S.E., to discuss and gather input about implementation of the Washington State Refrigerated Railcar Program.

All central Washington produce shippers and frozen processors who are interested in refrigerated rail car availability and supply are encouraged to attend Thursday's meeting.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray was in Moses Lake Monday to discuss movement on the program. The state will contract with Rail Logistics to provide refurbished rail cars. The federal government allocated $2 million over two years for the program, combined with a $200,000 fund from the state Legislature, which will go toward managing approximately 75 refurbished refrigerated cars in the program.

Quincy port commissioner Patric Connelly said the informational meeting Thursday will be one of several held at different sites throughout the state, explaining the program and getting ideas and comments from shippers and processors. Other meetings will be held in Seattle and Pasco.

One reason for the port's involvement, Connelly said, is the port's intermodal park and processors like Columbia Colstor and Lamb Weston, is to see some of the refrigerated rail cars staged in Quincy.

"They need to be somewhere to have inventory to be drawn from," he said. "If they're staggered a couple places in the state, that would be ideal and one of them, we would like to think, would be here."

According to a press release from the Port of Quincy, central Washington faces a critical shortage of refrigerated rail cars to ship fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, which can spoil over long distances without refrigeration. Furthermore, railroad lines do not always have enough refrigerated cars to serve perishable shippers on a year-round basis in the state.

The shortage has led to "crippling" delays in the most time-sensitive of industries, the release states. Once a produce shipper or frozen processor requests rail car service, it can sometimes take one to two weeks to obtain the cars.

"It's important to be there, be in attendance and be heard," Quincy port commissioner Brian Kuest said. "If Rail Logistics is looking at Quincy through whatever program becomes available, we would obviously like to see it in Quincy to benefit the upper Basin and the fresh shippers up here. I think it's important for the upper Basin to be able to move that product eastbound and get it moved in a timely manner, and know there's a schedule that will allow that to happen."

Port public affairs advisor, Pat Boss, said in a statement that rail is a more economical mode of transportation than trucks. Washington's distance from big markets and the need to keep perishables cold add to high transportation costs, he noted.

"In order to keep our frozen and produce shippers competitive, the Port of Quincy is working to increase refrigerated rail car inventories in central Washington," Boss said.