RAIL CENTER LINKS GROWERS TO NORTHWEST PORTS

RAIL CENTER LINKS GROWERS TO NORTHWEST PORTS    A new short-haul intermodal railroad, Columbia Rail, has re-opened the Wenatchee Apple Yard, a rail yard in Wenatchee, Wash., offering overnight container deliveries to the ports of Seattle and Tacoma for agricultural products from growers in eastern Washington.
   On its first day of operation, Columbia Rail had commitments from shippers to move as many as 100 containers per day when the fruit season is in full swing.
   “The future of transportation in Washington State is intermodal/short-haul rail,” said Don McGraw, president of Columbia Colstor Inc. McGraw co-founded Columbia Rail, but Colstor has nothing presently to do with its operation.
   Columbia Rail, which operates a container facility in Quincy, Wash., as well as in Wenatchee, has “a close relationship” with Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, said David Cannon, president of Columbia Rail.
   “Our customers all had the same concerns when they first called: how can we be sure we won’t get bumped off the rail lines, and what assurances do we provide that we can make schedule,” Cannon said.
   “Once we show them results, they sign up and it’s back to the way shipping worked at the turn of the century. Back then, roads hadn’t been built, but today, they are as unavailable, given congestion and winter driving conditions,” he explained.