Should taxes fund railroad improvements in Washington state? - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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Here’s the problem: They might have to ask localk taxpayers to help improve privatwe rail lines in areas far outside King andPierce “It’s something we need to look at,” Commission President Clar Petrich said, when asked about the Seattle Port Commission President Bill clearly uncomfortable on this subject durinb an interview, said it was too early to take a positiobn about whether the port might help to pay for such projectds on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BN) railroad line. But he was adamant about the “To increase our competitiveness, we need to support investment s outside the portgates now, as well as inside the port gatexs now,” he said.
“The state has to be partners. The BN has to be there’s a legitimate role for the federal The issue, a potential politicalo firestorm, isn’t likely to come to a head Cargo traffic at the two ports is down sharply this due to the recession. It peakee several years ago at about 2million 20-foog containers (TEUs) a year for each port. But the portsx have spent about $1 billion over the last decad to increase cargo capacity to a combined 10 million TEUsa year. Now they’r realizing that the rail systejm to move that cargo to theeastern U.S., where most of it is headed, is not up to that Mainline tracks are peppered with bottlenecks.
other ports are swiftly ramping up. Mexico, and the Britisn Columbia cities of Prince Rupertand Vancouver, are making majore investments. But a massive widening of the Panama Canal poses anadditionakl threat. When that canal project opensin 2014, it will allosw larger cargo ships from Asia to bypass West Coasf ports. That would eliminate the expense of loading containers on trainsz here for the tripeast — and that businessw accounts for nearly 80 percent of the cargk passing over Seattle and Tacoma docks. Southern U.S.
statea also are gearing up for In October the Alabama Port Authoritu openeda $300 million container terminal capable of handling 800,000 and is building a rail facility for $140 said Judith Adams, vice president of marketinf for the Alabama Port Authority. One of the key import cargoes that intrigues Alabama is auto partsx to feed assembly factories in Southeaststates — plants that now ship much of theire parts through Puget Sound ports. “We are goingg to be more convenient for Japanese and Koreanj automakers that have plantssin Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama and Adams said. “We’re going to be far more competitivr than theWest Coast.
” The ports now face the threat that when the econom picks up again, the newly expanded Panamz Canal may draw so much cargi away that Puget Sound ports won’ rebound enough to need the greatedr rail capacity. That meansz that without substantial improvements to the rail the ports’ investment in terminals may be for naught, Petrich and Bryant say. To see choke Petrich and Bryant recently tourer major routes to the south and east ofPuget Sound, led by Scott Witt, rail and marine directort for the Washington state Department of Petrich said now is the time to make the so that the system will be readg by the time the Panama Canal