FRA announces $3 million loan to Columbia Basin Railroad Company

The Federal Railroad Administration announced that the Columbia Basin Railroad Company Inc. (CBRC) is receiving a $3 million loan under the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) program. The CBRC will use the loan funds to purchase 73 miles of track it currently leases from the BNSF Railway between Connell and Moses Lake in eastern Washington State. The line acquisition is expected to increase efficiency and lower costs, allowing the CBRC to upgrade its track to handle heavier carloads for the benefit of its customers and the communities of McDonald, Grow, Sieler, Wheeler, Bassett Junction, Schrag, Warden, Warden Junction, Othello, Bruce and Shano. The CBRC primarily hauls agricultural products such as potatoes, wheat, soybean oil and frozen and packaged foods, as well as chemical commodities and fertilizer components used in agriculture.