In this aerial photo looking east, train cars sit in storage near Interstate 5 in Chehalis on a stretch of railroad track owned by Tacoma Rail.
The Port of Chehalis is not expected to see significant changes after a stretch of rail it utilizes was sold to a new owner earlier this year.
In October, Western Washington Railroad purchased a 35-mile stretch of railroad from Tacoma Rail. It stretches from Rainier to Chehalis.
“The port has an obvious concern in the future of the line as it provides connection between our Curtis line to the main line at Chehalis township,” Rick Rouse, senior director of operations at the port, said.
Toby Van Altvorst, a 50 percent partner with Western Washington Railroad, told port commissioners on Thursday the purchase should not affect the port’s operations.
“Western Washington Railroad has an existing lease on the line that’s good for a little over two years,” Van Altvorst said. “I would anticipate that things will stay pretty much the same for the next two years.”
He said there have been preliminary discussions about the future of the line, but Van Altvorst said his business partner is interested in long-term ownership of railroad properties, developing traffic on them and developing opportunities.
“The future is as uncertain as anything, although I think from you guys’ standpoint, your connection to the outside world is safe for the long haul,” he said.
Since Western Washington Railroad has been leasing the rail line, it has also been paying for investment, which includes installing ties and improving bridge infrastructure.
Now with the ownership of the line, Van Altvorst said they are more comfortable investing even more money into it.
“We’ve certainly been putting some money into the line, but now it’s a lot more comfortable seeing that money going in because we know long term that can offer returns,” he said.
Van Altvorst said the business is looking forward to working with the port in the future, which would include sharing any leads it gets for customers who would want to be located at a place with access to rail.
Since the port’s access to the line appears safe for at least the next two years, Commissioner Mark Anders said the port would revisit the issue at a later time to see if any changes would be made in the future.
Lewis County and the city of Chehalis earlier considered purchasing the line between Chehalis and Maytown. Both entities decided not to go through with the purchase after researching the potential sale.
