Does Washington’s rail system have the capacity to transport 142 million plus tons of coal annually to proposed coal export terminals? How might this impact other users of the rail system and the rest of the transportation infrastructure?
The “Washington State 2010-2030 Freight Rail Plan,” by the Department of Transportation State Rail and Marine Office, analyzes the state’s freight rail capacity. It’s available atwww.wsdot.wa.gov/Freight/Rail/Plan.htm.
In 2007 the state’s rail freight system carried 116 million tons of freight. It projects carrying 145.7 million tons in 2020 and 183 million tons in 2030. Adding new coal terminals would mean doubling the carrying capacity of the rail system by 2020.
These coal terminals are not in the state rail plan and do not figure into planned improvements for the system. The plan states 10.6 million tons of coal were transported in 2007 and projects 14.8 million tons in 2020.
