Washington State House Transportation Committee Holds Special Work Session on How the Cold Train and the Port of Quincy Intermodal Terminal Benefit the Washington Apple Industry

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Jan 17, 2014, 09:00 ET

OLYMPIA, Wash., Jan. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Washington State House Transportation Committee held a Special Legislative Work Session on January 15^th in Olympia, Washington about the Cold Train Express Intermodal Service and Port of Quincy Intermodal Terminal, and how they are helping to provide Washington state apple farmers and shippers a cost effective and efficient option to ship apples from Washington State (on BNSF Railway) to 20 states in the Midwest and East Coast, as well as one Canadian province.

Rep. Brad Hawkins, who represents the 12^th Legislative District and who is also a member of the House Transportation Committee, was a catalyst in organizing this Special Transportation Work Session on how the Cold Train and the Port of Quincy Intermodal Terminal benefit Washington Apple Shippers.

At the special work session, Patric Connelly (representing the Port of Quincy) and Patrick Boss (representing Port of Quincy and Cold Train) provided a PowerPoint presentation to the House Transportation Committee about the Cold Train's Expedited Eastbound Intermodal Service and the Port of Quincy Intermodal Terminal.

Additionally, Cole Jessup of Columbia Marketing International (CMI), one of the larger apple shippers in Washington State, and Mike Durfee of Diamond Logistics Northwest, discussed the importance of reliable and cost effective transportation options (such as the Cold Train via the Port of Quincy Intermodal Terminal) to efficiently ship Washington State Apples to Midwest and East Coast markets.

Furthermore, the above mentioned panel members at the Work Session provided the following remarks:

With continued relatively high fuel prices, the Cold Train service from the Port of Quincy provides apple shippers a good freight mobility option to diversify their transportation portfolios so that they are not solely reliant on long haul trucks, which are becoming increasingly regulated.
Many of shippers and receivers want to save fuel and reduce their carbon footprint, and Cold Train helps to do both.
Cold Train provides additional shipping capacity which is important as there are various periods during the year when long haul trucks are in short supply.

On a related note, below are some recent articles that discuss other benefits of the Port of Quincy Intermodal Terminal and Cold Train to the Washington State Apple industry.

For more information, please contact Patrick Boss at 509-214-7696 or email.