Monday, July 28, 2014
Puget Sound council studies impact of proposed rail terminal
The Puget Sound Regional Council released a study that evaluates the effects of train traffic if the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal near Bellingham were built.
Pacific International Terminal’s proposed facility would be a dry bulk commodity export-import facility located at Cherry Point, Washington, roughly 100 miles north of Seattle.
Regional cities such as Everett, Auburn, Algona, Pacific and Fife would be affected by more trains servicing the proposed terminal, the study said, noting that as the regional economy grows, demand for freight and passenger rail will increase whether the proposed terminal is not built or not.
The Gateway Pacific Terminal would to result in an additional 18 trains per day, the study said—each 1.6 miles long, between the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming through Washington State. It said the terminal would primarily transfer coal to ships for export.
"The PSRC’s regional land use, economic development and transportation planning supports the vital role of international trade in our region’s economy," said Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy, president of the PSRC. "We also recognize the importance of our railways in keeping our seaports competitive. That’s why we need to stay on top of changes that could impact our economy and communities up and down the Sound."
"If our trade-dependent economy is going to generate more family wage jobs and if we’re going to keep the jobs we have now, our state and the railroads need to invest in critical rail improvements," said Commissioner Bill Bryant, who represents Washington’s ports on the Puget Sound Regional Council executive board.
The study determined the impact of increased rail traffic could be offset if grade separations (over or underpasses) were built at nearly a third of the region’s 101 rail crossings.
The study found rail service is critical to maintaining the region’s growing economy and creating jobs. In 2012, the value of goods moving through the ports of Seattle, Tacoma and Everett were valued at more than $105 billion. Exports accounted for nearly $40 billion – everything from agricultural products to Boeing parts.
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