Columbia Basin, Central Washington railroads sold
The sale of the Columbia Basin Railroad should be completed by the end of August. The short line will be sold to Jaguar Transport Holdings, a Missouri-based company.
FILE PHOTO
MOSES LAKE — The Columbia Basin Railroad is scheduled to have a new owner by the end of August. Jaguar Transport Holdings, Joplin, Missouri, filed a statement in mid-July with the federal Surface Transportation Board announcing the sale.
Jaguar Transport Holdings declined to discuss the sale when contacted by the Columbia Basin Herald.
“Right now, we don’t have any comment on anything,” a Jaguar Transport spokesperson said.
Columbia Basin Railroad officials also declined to comment.
The CBRR lines extend from Connell to Warden and Moses Lake and include a branch line to Othello. The CBRR line connects with the BNSF tracks between Moses Lake and Ephrata. The company also owns the Central Washington Railroad, which includes a number of rail lines in the Yakima Valley.
The CBRR tracks provide access for, among others, the Port of Moses Lake. Port officials are working on a two-decade project to revive rail service to port property, which included the donation in March of a section of CBRR track to the port.
“We’re in the process now of checking to make sure our operating agreement transfers over to the new owner,” said Kim Detrolio, Port of Moses Lake director of finance and administration.
Milton Miller, Port of Moses Lake facilities director, said the sale shouldn’t affect the port’s rail project, since federal law governs rail service.
“There is federal law that says you can’t get rid of rail lines. That’s common carrier obligation – the federal government protects rail lines. Even if (the rail operator) wanted to shut down, they couldn’t shut it down. You would need federal approval,” Miller said.
“All we would have to do is file (a request), “No, you have to give us this rail service,’” he said.
The sale is partially dependent on approval from BNSF, the filing said, since BNSF sold the rail line to CBRR originally. The sale gave BNSF the right of first refusal on any sale, according to the filing.
Jaguar Transport Holdings provides rail service and transloading capability, mostly in the Midwest, Southwest and West, according to its website. The company owns a rail line based in Medical Lake, the website said.