The Washington State Department of Transportation said it picked Omaha Track as the winning bidder to operate the 90-mile P&L branch of the PCC, which runs from the Idaho border near Pullman to Marshall, just south of Spokane, Wash.
WSDOT said it expects to sign a final agreement with Omaha Track this summer.
Omaha Track, founded in 1983 and formerly known as The Tie Yard of Omaha, the company has expanded from a three-person business selling railroad ties to landscapers to becoming “the leading railroad material supply company and services contractor in North America.”
One of those services is short-line operations. Omaha Track’s website says the company is “always looking for new expansion opportunities.” The company doesn’t list other short lines it runs.
The current operator is the Washington & Idaho Railway, part of MidWest Pacific Rail Net & Logistics, based in Kansas City. The state says the current operating contract is expiring.
In taking over operation of the line, Omaha Track will be getting a branch line that has seen some growth in recent years, with car counts increasing from 2,301 in 2014 to 2,951 in 2015, 3,077 in 2016 railcars and 4,958 in 2017. For the first 10 months of 2018, the total was 4,405. Unit grain trains represent most of the freight volume.
The P&L branch is one of three in the PCC rail system, a 298-mile network purchased by the state in 2004 and 2007. The PV Hooper Branch in Whitman County is operated by the Palouse River & Coulee City Railroad, owned by Watco Companies. The state has swapped operators on the CW Branch between Cheney and Coulee City, naming Washington Eastern Railroad, part of The Western Group of affiliated, commonly owned short lines, to succeed Eastern Washington Gateway Railroad on the 108-mile state-owned line.
The state also announced it has received a $5.7-million Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant for work on all three branches of the PCC. The state is contributing $5.3 million, while local entities are adding another $335,000. The funds will be used to replace or repair 10 bridges, improve 28 miles of track and replace one mile of rail on all three branches.
