Bn, Ports Strike Deal On Growth Railroad Agrees To Expand Freight Capacity In Northwest

Burlington Northern will expand its freightcarrying capacity to meet demand in the Pacific Northwest under an agreement with the ports of Tacoma and Seattle.

The agreement was reached Monday to ensure the ports could meet growing Asian trade with adequate rail lines. The ports’ success depends on moving Asian cargo quickly over rail lines to the Midwest and East Coast.

“The trains drive the system,” Port of Tacoma Commissioner Pat O’Malley said. “You can have growth in China, but if you can’t get the trains to work, it won’t make a difference here. We sell speed.”

The BN rail lines are full in the Northwest and sometimes congested.

Combined, the Seattle and Tacoma ports handle the secondlargest container cargo volume in North America, behind Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., and rank 10th in the world, according to Containerisation International, an industry publication.

“BN is committed to making appropriate investments and operating improvements to accommodate future market demand for freight rail service within the Puget Sound gateway,” Gerald Grinstein, BN chairman and chief executive, said in a prepared statement.

Possibilities for increasing capacity could include reopening a route over Stampede Pass, or providing higher speeds and better train control over the Stevens Pass route, which currently handles a maximum of 24 trains a day.

“We’re looking at all the (upgrade) possibilities, but there are no decisions yet,” BN spokesman Richard Russack said.

In return for the railroad’s expansion, the ports agreed to support BN’s bid to merge with the Santa Fe Railroad.

Port of Seattle spokeswoman Janet Pelz said both ports were worried the pending merger might harm them by focusing all BN railroad capital on the Southern California ports now served by the Santa Fe and other railroads.