KENNEWICK — The Port of Benton will create an “inland port,” using its 16-mile stretch as the foundation of a new shipping hub for the Pacific Northwest.
The move comes less than a year after the port regained control over the deteriorating track from a contractor and began working to replace damaged ties, crossings and other equipment.
Last summer, it evicted the Tri-City Railroad Co. from the “southern connection” after a Benton County court ruled the railroad was in default because it let the rail condition deteriorate.
Repairs will let trains, currently limited to 5 mph in some spots, to speed up to 10 mph this summer. The goal is 22 or more.
Speeding up trains isn’t just good for railroads and their customers.
It is good for the motorists who currently wait nearly 20 minutes at Richland’s many railroad crossings for trains to creep by.
The port also intends to pursue a “quiet zone” designation from the Federal Railroad Commission for the stretch of track between Center Parkway at the Kennewick border and the Highway 240 crossing in north Richland.
Safety regulations require passing trains to blast their horns when approaching crossings.
The loud blasts aren’t required in quiet zones so long as steps are taken to ensure safety.
Diahann Howard, the port’s executive director, laid out the inland port project at a joint meeting of the port’s commission and the Richland City Council at a special session this week.
It is asking the city to swap parcels of land so it can create a railside shipping hub in north Richland complete with warehouses and equipment to move containers between trucks and trains.
The inland port concept builds on prior planning for Horn Rapids and for the rail.
Howard said it makes sense to act now. The port regained control of the track last year after four years of litigation with the former operator and is looking to boost traffic.
It already carries more than 1.30 million tons of freight annually for customers such as Lamb Weston, Central Washington Corn Processors, Packaging Corporation of America and Lineage Logistics (aka Preferred Freezer Services).
The port-within-a-port would be constructed near Central Washington Corn Processors rail loop at Horn Rapids.
Richland railroad
Richland’s railroad track is unique.
It was constructed in 1947 to connect the Hanford Nuclear Reservation to the main rail lines in Kennewick. It is used by both Union Pacific and BNSF Railway, one of the few spots in the state where both Class 1 railroads operate.
That makes it attractive to both.
The U.S. Department of Energy transferred it to the port in 1988 and it was chiefly operated by contractors afterward. Tri-City Railroad operated it until vacating the rail and associated buildings in late July following the long-running lawsuit.
The proposed inland port in north Richland would provide warehousing and loading facilities for goods destined to the Midwest and to the Northwest Seaport Alliance ports at Seattle and Tacoma. Shuttle trains would connect them, bypassing trucking .
Howard said it is a good time to embrace rail, which is not only more fuel efficient than trucking, but makes good use of travel times.
New federal electronic log requirements for commercial drivers will limit the hours drivers can work, putting the idea of a roundtrip between the Tri-Cities and Puget Sound in peril.
Putting goods on trains in the Tri-Cities bypasses traffic congestion at the Puget Sound ports, another barrier to commerce.
Richland and the port have an unusual opportunity to build on the existing rail line. the state has many port districts and shortline rail networks, but few have land to attract industry.
The new port facilities would build on the 1,341 acres of Hanford property transferred to the community in 2015 via the Tri-City Development Council. The city, port and Energy Northwest all received land for economic development purposes.
No action was taken at the joint meeting, but city officials indicated they support conducting due diligence on the proposal and affirmed their support for the port.
