Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., joined Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine Thursday in urging U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to increase safety resources for short-line railroads that they said make up one-third of the nation’s rail network.
Washington has more than one dozen short-line railroads, including the Lewis and Clark Railway owned by Clark County. The 33-mile line begins at the BNSF interchange at Rye Junction in Vancouver and runs northeast through Brush Prairie and Battle Ground to an end point north of Yacolt. The county leases a portion of the line to Columbia Basin Railroad and the northern portion near Battle Ground is leased to BYCX for the Chelatchie Prairie Railroad excursion train.
Murray and Collins told Foxx that they support creation of a Short Line Railroad Safety Institute that would work to improve safety in the short-line freight railroad industry, including the transportation of crude oil and ethanol. They praised the Federal Railroad Administration for its meetings with the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association about establishing such an institute, and its apparent support of the proposal.
