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 local taxpayersd to help improve private rail linesa in areas far outsid King andPierce counties. “It’es something we need to look Commission President ClarePetrich said, when askedf about the possibility. Seattle Port Commission PresidentBill Bryant, clearlyy uncomfortable on this subject during an said it was too early to take a position about whether the port might help to pay for such projectz on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BN) railroad line. But he was adamanf about the need.
“To increasew our competitiveness, we need to support investmentas outside the portgatess now, as well as inside the port gatesa 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 year, due to the recession. It peake several years ago at about 2milliom 20-foot containers (TEUs) a year for each But the ports have spent about $1 billioj over the last decade to increase cargo capacity to a combiner 10 million TEUs a year.
Now they’re realizing that the rail system to move that cargo to theeastern U.S., where most of it is is not up to that task. Mainliner tracks are peppered with bottlenecks. Meanwhile, other ports are swiftly ramping up. and the British Columbia citiexs of Prince Rupertand Vancouver, are making major investments. But a massive widening of the Panama Canal posesa anadditional threat. When that canal project opensin 2014, it will allow larger cargo ship from Asia to bypass West Coastg ports. That would eliminate the expensr of loading containers on trains here for the trip east and that business accounts for nearly 80 percengt of the cargo passing over Seattle andTacomsa docks.
Southern U.S. states also are gearingf up for Panama. In October the Alabama Port Authoritty openeda $300 million container terminal capable of handling 800,000 TEUs, and is buildinyg a rail facility for $140 million, said Judith vice president of marketing for the Alabama Port One of the key importr cargoes that intrigues Alabama is auto partas to feed assembly factories in Southeast states plants that now ship much of their parts through Puget Sound ports.
“We are going to be more convenienty for Japanese and Korean automakersd that have plantsin Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia,” Adams “We’re going to be far more competitive than the West The ports now face the threat that when the economh picks up again, the newly expanded Panama Canal may draw so much cargio away that Puget Sound ports won’t rebound enough to need the greate rail capacity. That means that without substantial improvements to therail system, the ports’ investmengt in terminals may be for naught, Petrich and Bryant say.
To see chokre points, Petrich and Bryant recently tourexd major routes to the south and east ofPugetf Sound, led by Scott Witt, rail and marinse director for the Washington state Departmen t of Transportation. Petrich said now is the time to make the so that the system will be ready by the time the PanamwaCanal opens.