Hastings visits Cold Train

QUINCY — Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., was recently updated about the refrigerated train car service offered at Quincy during a meeting with Port of Quincy commissioners and a Cold Train owner.

1. View More Photos

QUINCY - Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., was recently updated about the refrigerated train car service offered at Quincy during a meeting with Port of Quincy commissioners and a Cold Train owner.

Hastings' stop at the port was part of his trip through Central Washington. He also visited East Wenatchee and Kennewick.

His goal was to connect with residents about job creation and talk about ways to improve the economy.

After his meeting at the port, he told the Columbia Basin Herald he was briefed on the progress made since the Cold Train operation was put into place.

Hastings said he visited the operation when it was envisioned and some federal funding was involved with the project.

With the current service that began in April, he thinks there are more options for shippers. The Cold Train is advantageous to our economy, he added.

One more part of that is to see the facility.

Hastings commented about how the company is working to grow the terminal, which is part of any business.

Pat Boss, the port's government affairs director, said Quincy was put on the map as a distribution facility.

"For this area, this particular mode of transportation works well, especially for going to the Midwest," he commented.

He thought it was good for Hastings to see how product is being moved from the Port of Quincy to the Port of Chicago.

Boss called Hastings "a big supporter of the intermodal terminal."

Different types and additional commodities are using the service, such as potatoes and onions.

"We were successfully able to move cherries in June and July," Boss commented. "It's rare when cherries are moved by rail, when it works for cherries, it works for anything."

He called the facility a centralized location to accommodate shippers, which allows them some alternatives.

Shorthaul truck drivers are helped with the added business and rail typically produces fewer carbon emissions.

Cold Train is looking at bringing frozen chicken, beef and pork to Washington for distribution.

Fresh produce would be hauled to the Midwest and frozen meats would come back to the Northwest.

There's the ability for Quincy to store a lot of products.

Chris Mnichowski of Rail Logistics/Cold Train, an owner of Cold Train, said the company has been working in Washington state since 2004.

They expect to double the business they did during the opening in April.

Their peak season is September through December and in the January time frame.

"The proof is in the eating of the pudding," he commented. "People are sampling the pudding."