Coal trains kill Cold Trains: Fruit delivery service shuts down as rail congestion heats up

Allison Roberts News

Congestion from coal and oil trains seems to be the key factor forcing closure of a prominent express rail service that carries Washington fruit and produce to East Coast markets.

Cold Train on Thursday announced it is shutting down its express service from Quincy, Wash. because restrictions in the BNSF Railway schedule changed delivery guarantees from three days to six days.

“BNSF’s business decision to direct its resources away from Cold Train resulted in millions of dollars in operating losses and millions of dollars in capital investment losses, both of which are simply unsustainable,” said a Cold Train release.

The release connected the closure directly to coal and oil shipments by BNSF Rail.

Read the full story at the Puget Sound Business Journal…