Columbia Rail Group lands service contract at fourth port
2/21/2023
By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor
The Port of Benton recently contracted Columbia Rail Group to operate and maintain its 16-mile southern connection line in North Richland, Washington. The company began operating the line on Feb. 1.
The operations and maintenance agreement includes two locomotives, a rail yard, offices, and a three-bay locomotive shop that can be used to conduct both contract and in-house locomotive repairs and reconditioning work.
Last year, the port terminated its lease/operator agreement with Tri-City Railroad Co. LLC. A Benton County superior court found the railroad was in default of the agreement because it hadn’t properly maintained the line, port officials said in a July 2022 press release. The port then searched for a new operator.
That opened the door for Columbia Rail Group, which owns and operates the Columbia-Walla Walla Railway, Kennewick Terminal Railway, Washington Royal Line and Yakima Central Railway.
The company manages about 175 miles of track mostly in Washington — a small segment is in northern Oregon — and provides rail-car storage, track construction and repair, and switching services. The firm’s short lines and switching operations interchange with either BNSF Railway Co. or Union Pacific Railroad.
The company’s four short lines include the Columbia-Walla Walla Railway, Kennewick Terminal Railway, Washington Royal Line and Yakima Central Railway. Columbia Rail Group The new Port of Benton operation augments what’s become a growing network in the Pacific Northwest, Columbia Rail Group officials say. The firm now provides services at four ports in Washington and Oregon, says Columbia Rail Group Director of Operations Stuart Smith.
In addition to the new Port of Benton operation in Washington, Columbia-Walla Walla Railway operates a line leased from the Port of Columbia and the Washington Royal Line operates a line leased from the Port of Royal Slope. In Oregon, Columbia Rail Group serves as a rail switching operator for the Port of Morrow in Boardman.
Track improvements are planned at the Port of Benton, where the leased 16-mile line runs between Center Parkway in Kennewick and Horn Rapids Road in Richland, Washington. Eventually, about 10,000 ties will be replaced on the line over the next three to four years, says Smith, adding that some small projects already are underway.
In addition, the company recently started work on a 5,000-foot rail spur that will connect to the Port of Royal Slope’s industrial park in Royal City, Washington. Construction is expected to conclude later in 2023. The state provided a $1 million grant for the project, Smith says.
Meanwhile in Oregon, Columbia Rail Group and the Port of Morrow last year obtained a $700,000 state grant to replace about 1,000 ties on a three-mile track segment in Boardman. Work will start after UP — which owns the trackage and leases it to Columbia Rail Group — signs off on the project, says Smith.