"This is good news for the long-term reliability of the system, said Meira."

The navigation locks at The Dalles, John Day and Lower Monumental dams will close December 10, 2010 for major repairs, closing the dams for 14, 14, and 13 weeks respectively. Maintenance outages at McNary, Lower Granite, Ice Harbor Dam, Bonneville, Little Goose and Lower Monumental will be undertaken during this time.

The locks will be closed from Dec. 10, 2010 to March 18, 2011, and barge traffic from the Dallles Dam to Lewiston, Ida. will be impossible, though traffic below the dam will still be passable.

Ten million tons of cargo, worth an estimated $2 billion, moves through the system annually, much of it agricultural products. Potato growers will feel less of an impact, because most of the crop is trucked to the Port of Seattle, although they will see increased competition for trucks. Rail companies will be increasing cars to compensate, but the cargo space will be shared by everyone affected by the closure, potentially creating problems.

"A lot of wheat has to go by truck, so it's going to make it tough to find trucks if the trucks are tied-up taking wheat to market," said Chris Voight, executive director of the Washington Potato Commission.

"This is going to be more of a problem for packing sheds and processors. They're the ones who have to be a little nervous, because they're the ones who have to compete with the wheat industry."

River closure could impact truck traffic

River closure could impact truck traffic

Everett Brazil III -- Spudman -- June 2, 2010

Barge traffic along the Columbia-Snake River System is scheduled for a temporary closure at the end of 2010 for repair of locks that will maintain the long-term reliability of the river system, leaving short-term impacts on cargo transportation throughout the Northwest.

"The Portland, Ore. and Walla Walla, Wash. districts of the Army Corps of Engineers are implementing a long-term plan for major maintenance of the lock system, and the stimulus package provided enough funds for three projects to be tackled during lock closure," said Kristin Meira, government relations director for the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association, Portland.

"This is good news for the long-term reliability of the system, said Meira."

The navigation locks at The Dalles, John Day and Lower Monumental dams will close December 10, 2010 for major repairs, closing the dams for 14, 14, and 13 weeks respectively. Maintenance outages at McNary, Lower Granite, Ice Harbor Dam, Bonneville, Little Goose and Lower Monumental will be undertaken during this time.

The locks will be closed from Dec. 10, 2010 to March 18, 2011, and barge traffic from the Dallles Dam to Lewiston, Ida. will be impossible, though traffic below the dam will still be passable.

follow a Railex train as it hauls produce from Wallula

A History Channel program airing Tuesday night will follow a Railex train as it hauls produce from Wallula, Wash., to the company’s east coast terminus in Rotterdam.

The company’s operations will be the subject of the hour-long "Extreme Trains" episode airing at 10 p.m. Tuesday, according to the History Channel’s Web site.

Paul Esposito, vice president of sales and logistics for Railex, said the episode will offer an inside look of how the company teamed with Union Pacific to move food across the country in less than five days. He said the program was filmed about three months ago and features the various techniques the company uses to keep produce fresh during its coast-to-coast journey.

“They follow it from tree to plate,” he said.

Hosted by Matt Bown, "Extreme Trains" delves into the inner workings of the railroads and the difficult conditions many work under to keep them running. In addition to featuring existing railroad services, the program examines how trains have helped shape American history

Railex is not only shipping Mid-Columbia wines to the East Coast.

Railex is not only shipping Mid-Columbia wines to the East Coast, now the company’s cold storage warehouse in Wallula has been approved as a bonded wine warehouse.Now winery customers can save money on storage, cut out extra steps in the distribution process and maintain constant safe temperatures for the wine.

Railex, a refrigerated rail transport company, offers five-day, non-stop refrigerated shipping from its Burbank warehouse to a similar facility in Rotterdam, New York. The cars are never separated or changed during the trip, which means there’s no chance of cars being left behind or product being lost. And the company provides GPS monitoring of each car, allowing customers to monitor progress and the status of the refrigeration system. Joe Fraser, Ste. Michelle’s vice president of operations and supply chain, said the winery has been using Railex for more than a year to ship its wine and now is storing wine at the facility, as well.

Previously the company used refrigerated trucks to ship hundreds of thousands of cases of wine each year to the East Coast. The company had tried traditional rail service, which is less expensive than trucking, but there were too many risk factors, Fraser said.The rail schedules were inconsistent — sometimes the wine would get to the East Coast in two weeks, other times it took four.
A railcar of wine could accidentally be left in switching yards, where the cars are transferred from train to train to reach their destination.And there was no way to track the car or know where it was when a distributor called to ask about the status of an order.Plus, the rocky ride on traditional railcars, with the cars being hooked and unhooked intermittently during the trip, requires extra packaging to prevent breakage.

These are all problems Fraser doesn’t have to worry about with Railex, which has made the five-day trek once a week since its first train left Wallula in fall 2006. During some heavy harvest periods, the company has amped up to two trains per week.And since the railcars stay linked together during the entire trip, no extra packaging is needed. The company can ship the wine in the same packaging it uses on semi-trucks. 

Less packaging saves the company money and means less waste and a smaller carbon footprint, something that’s very important to the company, Fraser said. About a million cases of Ste. Michelle wines will be loaded onto Railex trains this year, he said.And, although it still takes a lot of fuel to get the wine to its destination, fewer trucks are on the road. 

Produce News that South African citrus importers had “been proactive to get involved with Railex

In mid-July, Mr. Welker told The Produce News that South African citrus importers had “been proactive to get involved with Railex,” and are using the Railex system as it was intended to be used, as “a forward deployment platform. This enables [the importers’] customers to order one day out, and this way the customers don’t order more than they need,” he said.

Mr. Welker noted that South African importers’ customers can order less than truckload or full loads depending on their needs, and Railex’s contract transportation will deliver up and down the West Coast.“We can go from British Columbia to San Diego,” he said. “We are changing long-haul trucks to short-haul trucks.”
“The South Africans and their importers are working toward the long term goals of building a program that lessens the impact of food miles and expands their distribution radius, which will ultimately lead to the goal of greater long term profitability,” he added.

Railex service delivers South African citrus to West Coast terminals by train

Railex service delivers South African citrus to West Coast terminals by train

Joel Gebet -- The Produce News -- July 29, 2010

South African citrus is making its way to the West Coast this year in large volumes for the first time in the decade that it has been exported to the United States, and Railex LLC is playing a major part in the logistics enabling this to take place.

Railex, a division of Riverhead, NY based ADS Management LLC, is known for its four refrigerated, temperature-controlled unit trains that depart from its West Coast terminals in Delano, CA, and Wallula, WA, and terminate on the East Coast at its terminal in Schenectady, NY, weekly.

This year, importers of South African citrus are utilizing Railex’s trains to move their product as the trains make their return trips back to their respective terminals on the West Coast.

“2010 is the first time in the 11 years we have been exporting to the United States that we will be able to extend our geographic footprint to include the West Coast,” Western Cape Citrus Producers Forum Chairman Gerrit van der Merwe said in a press release issued in late May. “An arrangement with Railex will enable retailers to have our fruit available and consumers to enjoy our citrus within six days of leaving the port in Philadelphia.”

“The advantages to the WCCPF and their importers are significant as it opens new markets for them from San Diego through Portland to Seattle, as well as the inland cities.” Bill Welker, Railex’s vice president of national accounts, said in the release.

Blue Ribbon using Railex to its advantage

Blue Ribbon using Railex to its advantage

Lora Abcarian -- http://www.theproducenews.com -- January 21, 2008

According to David Darrington, marketing and sales manager for Blue Ribbon Produce LLC in Quincy, WA, the company has been able to take advantage of the Railex transportation network to move fresh potatoes.

"We have done some [shipments] with Railex," he told The Produce News. "The customers really like it. I hope [the service] gets patronized enough that it’s a success."

Blue Ribbon produces Norkotahs for both domestic and export markets. 

According to Mr. Darrington, Railex service has helped move some product into the eastern United States, opening a new marketing zone.

"It’s a quick train," Mr. Darrington said. "It’s out [from Washington] on Thursdays and in [New York] on Tuesdays." A distinct advantage when compared to trucking is that product can actually be delivered to customers faster when weather is bad, he stated.

This season, Blue Ribbon has been marketing high-quality, large- profile fresh potatoes. Yields were good this season, he said, and marketing of the current crop will conclude next month.

Potato movement is split evenly between domestic and export. "We’ve got pretty good Canadian business," Mr. Darrington stated. Exports also move into the Pacific Rim. The majority of product is sold to wholesalers and foodservice.

Railex Passes SQF Certification with Superior Rating

Railex Passes SQF Certification with Superior Rating

-- January 4, 2010

Railex was recently certified by the Safe Quality Food Institute. (SQF)

Our company is committed to ensuring maximum food safety and quality standards for our customers. Certification under the Safe Quality Food (SQF) program provides assurance that products are handled in accordance with the highest possible quality and safety principles in compliance with current food safety regulations. Utilizing an independent 3rd party auditing process, Railex operations have attained an SQF 2000 "superior" ranking based on HACCP methods and principles. SQF certification is broad-based, covering all aspects of sanitation, product traceability, employee training, using approved suppliers, and all aspects related to product receiving, storage, and shipping.

Our facilities, systems, and staff are all aligned to protect the product that moves through our supply chain.