I hear the train a comin'

It had been nearly 15 years in the making and 20 years since rail service has operated on the tracks, but the Royal Slope Railroad was finally able to offer a weekly rail service to Othello.

Work on the project began in 2002. The Port of Royal Slope had to jump through several hoops along the way mandated by the Washington State Department of Transportation including finding enough potential shippers and an operator to rehabilitate and maintain the rail line to Othello.

In 2006, with the cooperation from WSDOT the Port held a meeting to discuss rail service. Shippers, operators, our legislators, community members, WSDOT and the neighboring Columbia Basin Railroad were all invited to attend.

The Port took another run at it in 2009. Local businesses helped by writing letters of support for rail service and sent them to Governor Christine Gregoire and local legislators.

A “Right of Entry” was granted from WSDOT in May of that same year allowing the Port access to the rail to see what needed to be done to open it up. In September the Port received the go ahead from WSDOT to remove rockslides and debris along the line. By early October, former Port Commissioner Frank Mianecki moved his equipment up on the line and began the work spending many hours removing the rock and debris along the rail.

WSDOT then performed a “Condition Assessment” on the railroad and valued an estimate to restore it to “excepted status” at $1.5 million. With the help of Port Lobbyist Jim Potts and local legislators, the Port in 2001 was able to secure $750,000 from the Transportation Budget for the rehabilitation of the line running from Royal to Othello.

The daunting task was complete in the summer of 2013. With the rehabilitated line in the rear view mirror, there was still a huge hurdle remaining in place … get WSDOT to get an operator for the line. After a failed attempt to do so, the Port decided to try and secure ownership of the rail line.

Companion Bills were then created: Senate Bill 5529, sponsored by Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake in early May of 2015 called for the return ownership of the 26-mile state-owned railroad tracks to the Port of Royal Slope. The Bill cleared the Senate by a lopsided 47-1 vote.

A second Bill, House Bill 1585 sponsored by 13th District Representative Matt Manweller calling for the transfer of the Royal Slope Railroad to the Port of Royal Slope eventually passed.

Gov. Jay Inslee paved the way for the transaction after he signed HB 1586 on May 18 of 2015 transferring ownership from WSDOT to the Port. The transfer of ownership was made contingent on the Port finding an operator for the line that runs from Royal to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe line in Connell within a five-year period or the deal was off and ownership would revert back to the state.

On Friday, March 24, Potter was finally able to see the fruits of all the labor that made it all come together.