“There was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run.”

Gordon Lightfoot

Some Eastern Washington farmers fear that such a time will return if the Washington Legislature and the state Department of Transportation don’t act promptly. They could be right.

What the interstates and ports are to the Puget Sound region’s mighty economy, small railroads are to rural communities that must transport grains, seeds, fertilizer and other agricultural commodities. Until recently, shippers between Coulee City and Pullman counted on a combination of short-line railroads. But Watco, the Kansas company that owns and operates more than 350 miles of track in the region, has neglected upkeep and raised costs, rendering the rail option unreliable.

Maintenance of the tracks is so poor in some places that trains can move at only 10 mph, piling up substantial labor costs. In addition, Watco has imposed steep surcharges, and traditional customers have turned to alternative transportation, such as trucks, which chew up state and county roads and rack up millions in repair expenses.

The situation didn’t arise overnight. Dozens of small railroads around the country are petitioning the federal Surface Transportation Board for rules that would expedite the process for abandoning lines that aren’t as lucrative as the railroads want. In their filing, the railroads concede that current regulations give them an incentive to accelerate the deterioration of service, sending small lines into a “death spiral” – to the detriment of farm communities.

Anticipating that problem three years ago, the Legislature set aside $33.5 million for the Department of Transportation to buy all three sections of the PCC Railroad and make badly needed repairs. But lawmakers spread the spending authority out over two bienniums – a strategy that turned out badly.

The department acquired the segments from Cheney westward but had to wait until 2005 to buy the rest. By that time, rising steel prices made Watco take a second look at how much to ask for the remaining 108 miles of track. The company now wants some $6 million, about five times what it once agreed to.

It’s too bad that the Department of Transportation didn’t nail down a firm price rather than settle for a handshake with Watco. And it’s too bad that the state didn’t put all the acquisition money in the 2003-05 biennial budget.

As a consequence, not only is the existing agriculture economy impacted, but so are future opportunities, such as the oil-seed market envisioned if a vigorous ethanol program is launched.

Now, it’s essential for the state to mitigate past oversights. That means not only acquiring ownership of the Coulee City-Cheney branch, but also pursuing the Surface Transportation Board’s authority to operate the line.