The
Washington State Department of Transportation will seek the insights of farmers,
rail-industry experts, regular citizens and anyone in between at planning
workshops this fall on state-owned rail lines in an effort  to improve the movement of goods produced on Northwest farms. 

WSDOT planning staff will consider infrastructural and operational challenges
as they develop the Palouse River and Coulee City (PCC) Rail System Strategic
Plan for the system. The strategic plan will be developed in partnership with
the PCC Rail Authority. The 297-mile PCC rail line consists of three branch lines that carry freight through four eastern Washington counties. Shippers in Spokane, Lincoln, Grant and Whitman counties distribute commodities across the rail system to and from the hubs of cross-country railroads. Last year, the PCC rail system carried 20 percent of state-grown wheat, while reducing 37,000 truckloads from Washington state roadways.

The Spokane workshop is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 13 here at SRTC- 221 W. 1st St., Suite 310 from 2:30 4 p.m. so if you have thoughts, come share them.