Paul Esposito, vice president of logistics and strategic planning for AMPCO

Kuntz said the budget contains an additional $1 million to help pay for a water system, an access road and additional property for the center. In addition, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) secured $1.5 million in federal transportation funds to help pay for the rail line. Kuntz said the port also has secured a $400,000 economic development sales tax grant from Walla Walla County and $750,000 from the state Community Economic Revitalization Board.

The weekly 55-car train will consist of 64-foot, refrigerated boxcars that can carry as much as four truckloads of produce each, for a total capacity of about 8 million pounds. Union Pacific is guaranteeing delivery of the produce from Wallula to a Schenectady, New York, warehouse, in 124 hours.The speed lies in keeping the load intact enroute, according to Union Pacific. The train will stop only in Chicago for a crew change before steaming on to New York for unloading and distribution. Oregon and Washington apples, onions and potatoes are expected to make up most of the cargo. Railex has been busy marketing the new service among its large Northwest growers.

Paul Esposito, vice president of logistics and strategic planning for AMPCO, which owns Railex, said growers have never had this kind of service in the past.Kuntz said the first 55-car train is already completely booked. “It’s hard to get produce from the West Coast to the East Coast. Conventional rail takes too long and has too many stops. And cars tend to get lost when they stop in rail yards.”East Coast markets rely heavily on produce imported from Central and South America to meet consumer demand, he said. “But the imported produce that fills the void on the East Coast isn’t as high quality as West Coast produce delivered quickly from the fields.”