I really don’t see as much reason for pessimism as would have been the case back in the days of intense regulation. The rail industry has seen a number of outbreaks of optimism since the corner was turned back in the Eighties, and as has been noted in Mr. Frailey’s recent columns and subsequent commentary, there is now more than one approach to customer relations and service.
The basic driving forces behind the rail industry’s revival – energy efficiency and, misdirected attempts at fine-tuning aside, a smaller environmental “footprint:” – remain in force.
So, Quincy is easy of the passes. which means it isn’t involved in the Iron Triangle and the headaches of getting over the cascades. So what the heck BNSF bottlenecks are there after that? I thought the major capacity constraint on the Northern Transcon was getting over the Cascades?
Further, Do I understand that This service was in intermodal reefers rather than in box car reefers? Why couldn’t it have been trucked to UP? Perhaps a smidge more expensive and that may explain it, but UP is running the Apple Train and the Salad shooter without issue.
After a recent trip to Portland that included a stop for lunch in Medford, I was going to ask here if Harry and David still shipped by rail at all since there is a Siding and while the Siskyous pass is currently closed, they could go north. Or justify reopening. I think this thread just answered that for me.
Cold Train was using refrigerated containers. The UP-served Railex terminal at Wallula is some 110 miles south of Quincy. Customers that used to truck to Quincy could have more, or less, distance to travel to reach Wallula, depending on where their product originates. Cold Train offered almost daily departures for containers, which were typically picked up by a Z-SSECHC. Railex and UP are currently offering only one departure per week from Wallula, according to their summer schedule. That business appears to have declined from its peak of two or more departures per week with 40 to 55 car trains, but perhaps it’s just a seasonal shift. Last Monday’s inbound train was less than 25 cars.
As for traffic patterns, the Iron Triangle keeps things fairly fluid Auburn-Pasco via Stampede Pass and Pasco-Vancouver via the Columbia River, but gets a bit more congested Vancouver-Auburn thanks to UP and Amtrak. Outside the triangle, congestion is more serious because trains are moving in both directions. Not just Pasco-Spokane, but also Everett-Wenatchee-Quincy-Spokane. In fact, that northern route through Quincy has received very little in the way of capacity expansion in the past few years compared to other routes in the region, therefore the 25-30 trains this line can see per day is considered at or above practical capacity for that route.
Go here, and flip to page 28 (63 by the centerspread navigation tool):
With so much track work under way, and increased levels of traffic, it is simply unrealistic to try to operate a corridor or regional system that neatly accommodates multitudes of high-tonnage unit trains, higher-speed high-priority intermodals, and passenger, all on the same one or two tracks, without having to apply some degree of compromise. Demoting Z trains to Q trains was one such compromise. The question is, for how long.
I wonder if some shipper lobby group or politician will try to use this episode as a justification for re-regulation, or at least imposing some more rules and STB oversight, against the [:-,] evil, monopolistic, “shipper-be-damned” railroad (see editorial cartoons from the 1880’s -90’s for good images).
Mind you, I’m not advocating that at all, but I would not be surprised. Recall the saying: “Never let a good crisis go to waste” (attributed to both Winston Churchill as well as Rahm Emanuel . . . [:-^] ).
A new player is trying out refrigerated intermodal from the Pacific Northwest in the wake of Cold Train’s demise:
[QUOTE]Infinity Transportation on Monday, Nov. 10, 2014 announced “a new expedited refrigerated domestic intermodal container service operating from the Pacific Northwest to the Midwest and East Coast.”
The origin area for the traffic they are targeting is “in the sticks”. Quincy had the advantage of shorter truck hauls than will the infinity plan. My personal opinion is that BNSF did not want to stop a hot train to make the Quincy pick-up. My prediction is infinity will be eaten up by dray costs.
FWIW I grew up in Wenatchee, the self proclaimed Apple Capital of the World. The ideal play for Cold Train would have been a terminal in Wenatchee, a crew change point. They would have to build one track through the former roundhouse site. Start from Wenatchee with apples, use the Quincy terminal to p/u fresh and frozen spuds, make a Spokane pickup to fill out the train and run like hell for Chicago.
Perishables are time sensative. I am skeptical of the BNSF’s ability to perform. Remember that the story they put out when they pulled the plug on Quincy was that they could not get over the road. Reverting back to established terminals does nothing to get trains over the road.
A new player is trying out refrigerated intermodal from the Pacific Northwest in the wake of Cold Train’s demise:
Infinity Transportation on Monday, Nov. 10, 2014 announced “a new expedited refrigerated domestic intermodal container service operating from the Pacific Northwest to the Midwest and East Coast.”
A whole lot of business originates out there in “The Sticks” and the railroads have to develop a way to serve that business or let a whole lot of income pass them by.
I know, the operating folks just want a train loaded at origin and delivered intact at destination. Life is so much simpler that way. But such operations leave mega bucks on the highway. And the railroads could easily get those dollars if they could figure out a way to serve intermediate points, such as Wenatchee, with existing trains. It would be a whole lot of revenue added with minimal cost.
I do not know when it became so difficult to do a pick up/set out en route. I realize it cannot be done efficiently for one carload. But it can well be done for 20 carloads of apples (or lettuce, or beef, etc.) to be moved 2,500 miles.
This is something I believe they need to deal with and develop a solution for. Hell, put a brakeman on the train if you have to. The revenue from one car of the pick up/set out will more than pay for him/her.