What is the Washington Grain Train?
Serving over 2,500 cooperative members and farmers in one of the most productive grain-growing regions in the world, the Washington Grain Train helps carry thousands of tons of grain to deepwater ports along the Columbia River and Puget Sound for transport to ships bound for Pacific Rim markets.
The Washington State Grain Train began operations in 1994 and currently has 89 grain cars in the fleet (71 are owned by the state, and 18 are owned by the Port of Walla Walla). The Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway Company, and Washington short line railroads operate the cars and carry the grain to market.
Why did WSDOT start the Washington Grain Train program?
In the early 1990s, a national shortage of rail hopper cars made it difficult and expensive for Washington State farmers to get grain to market. To help alleviate this shortage of grain cars, the Washington State Energy Office and WSDOT used federal funds to purchase 29 used grain cars to carry wheat and barley from loading facilities in eastern Washington to export facilities in western Washington and Oregon.
Public benefits of the Washington Grain Train
The Washington Grain Train produces a number of important public benefits. The Grain Train:
- Helps move Washington products reliably and efficiently to domestic and international markets
- Helps preserve Washington’s short-line railroads by generating revenues that can be used to upgrade rail lines and support the railroad’s long-term infrastructure needs
- Helps support a healthy rail network that can maintain and attract new businesses—especially in rural areas of Washington
- Saves fuel
- Supports better air quality
- Helps reduce wear and tear on local roadways
- Was started with federal “seed” money and operates without any taxpayer subsidy
Who manages the Washington Grain Train?
WSDOT, the Port of Walla Walla, the Port of Moses Lake, and the Port of Whitman County all manage the Washington Grain Train. WSDOT oversees the entire program, and the port districts collect monthly payments from the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) and Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) for the use of the cars (see below). The ports can use up to one percent of the payments they receive from the UP and BNSF for fleet management services.
Which communities are served by the Washington Grain Train?
The Washington Grain Train collects wheat and barley from grain elevators in eight cities in eastern Washington. Twenty-nine cars are positioned on the Columbia Basin Railroad that extends from Moses Lake to Connell. These cars are interchanged with BNSF Railway and are transported to ports in Vancouver, Portland, and Kalama. The remaining Grain Train cars continue to be used in a shuttle service between grain elevators on the PV Hooper line and the Blue Mountain line to a barge facility on the Columbia River. Barges then transport the grain to export terminals in Vancouver, Kalama, and Portland.
How well is the grain train program performing today?
Use of the grain cars remains strong. Since its beginning, the Grain Train program has carried over 9,000 carloads totaling more than 900,000 tons of grain from Washington to national and international markets. Total carloads for the fourth quarter of 2007 increased 78 percent over the fourth quarter of 2006. There were 629 carloads shipped in the fourth quarter of 2007 compared with 353 in the fourth quarter of 2006. In total for 2007, 2,359 carloads were shipped compared to 1,742 carloads in 2006, a 35% increase.
For more information
Contact:
Jeff Schultz
WSDOT State Rail and Marine Office
Operations and Rolling Stock Manager
360-705-7900
schultj@wsdot.wa.gov