As the City of Tacoma grapples with its $63-million recession hangover with layoffs and cutbacks, one branch of city government, its municipal railroad, Tacoma Rail, may be putting hard times behind it.
Credit a combination of a rush of new business as well as timely deals to shed expenses for the turnaround. While the city plans to lay off 217 workers in other departments, Tacoma Rail is hiring. While general government revenues have declined, Tacoma Rail’s are rising.
Tacoma Rail is a rarity, a city-owned railroad. With 204 miles of track, Tacoma Rail is the largest municipally-owned and operated freight railroad in the country. Tacoma Rail is part of Tacoma’s Public Utilities operation that includes Tacoma Power and Tacoma Water. Tacoma Rail serves industrial customers on the Tacoma Tide flats, in the Frederickson Industrial Development in south Pierce County and in the Nelly Valley in South Tacoma. It also provides switching service for the ports of Olympia and Tacoma and their terminals. It is the Port of Tacoma’s burgeoning business that has improved the railroad’s fortunes in recent months. The arrival of a handful of new shipping lines at the Port of Tacoma beginning in July is largely responsible for that boost in Tacoma Rail’s business. The Grand Alliance consortium of shipping lines helped the Port of Tacoma raise its benchmark container shipping volumes by 37 percent in September compared with September 2011. The Grand Alliance moved to the port’s Washington United Terminal from Seattle after the port and Washington United Terminals operator, Hyundai Merchant Marine, promised more efficient, less costly container handling than Seattle. Tacoma Rail benefits because it moves the long container trains between the port’s terminals and the mainline railroads, Union Pacific and BNSF. In July alone, Tacoma Rail’s port volume increased by more than 50 percent. The railroad has hired five new workers to handle the increased volume. Next year the workforce at Tacoma Rail is expected to reach 101, up from the low of 89 workers at the recession’s nadir. The new business comes after a deep decline in port business beginning in 2008 when the port’s volume declined by 25 percent and with it the rail switching business that it fostered.
Tacoma Rail rolls past hard times
As the City of Tacoma grapples with its $63-million recession hangover with layoffs and cutbacks, one branch of city government, its municipal railroad, Tacoma Rail, may be putting hard times behind it.
Credit a combination of a rush of new business as well as timely deals to shed expenses for the turnaround. While the city plans to lay off 217 workers in other departments, Tacoma Rail is hiring. While general government revenues have declined, Tacoma Rail’s are rising.
Tacoma Rail is a rarity, a city-owned railroad. With 204 miles of track, Tacoma Rail is the largest municipally-owned and operated freight railroad in the country. Tacoma Rail is part of Tacoma’s Public Utilities operation that includes Tacoma Power and Tacoma Water. Tacoma Rail serves industrial customers on the Tacoma Tide flats, in the Frederickson Industrial Development in south Pierce County and in the Nelly Valley in South Tacoma. It also provides switching service for the ports of Olympia and Tacoma and their terminals. It is the Port of Tacoma’s burgeoning business that has improved the railroad’s fortunes in recent months. The arrival of a handful of new shipping lines at the Port of Tacoma beginning in July is largely responsible for that boost in Tacoma Rail’s business. The Grand Alliance consortium of shipping lines helped the Port of Tacoma raise its benchmark container shipping volumes by 37 percent in September compared with September 2011. The Grand Alliance moved to the port’s Washington United Terminal from Seattle after the port and Washington United Terminals operator, Hyundai Merchant Marine, promised more efficient, less costly container handling than Seattle. Tacoma Rail benefits because it moves the long container trains between the port’s terminals and the mainline railroads, Union Pacific and BNSF. In July alone, Tacoma Rail’s port volume increased by more than 50 percent. The railroad has hired five new workers to handle the increased volume. Next year the workforce at Tacoma Rail is expected to reach 101, up from the low of 89 workers at the recession’s nadir. The new business comes after a deep decline in port business beginning in 2008 when the port’s volume declined by 25 percent and with it the rail switching business that it fostered.