Coos Bay secures federal funding for rail

The award has been made by the US Department of Transportation’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Grant Program. The funding is a critical part of connecting the planned international container terminal to the national freight rail network because it addresses the final design and construction work on the Coos Bay Rail Line.

Nominated project works include improvements to track, bridges and tunnels, together with new sidings, turnarounds, and the construction of a new Centralised Traffic Control. These upgrades are important because they allow the line to accommodate double-stack container services.

PCIP is being developed through a public-private partnership involving the Port of Coos Bay and leading marine terminal development specialist, NorthPoint Development.

The new terminal will have a planned capacity of 1.2 million TEU per annum and will bring new capacity to support Oregon’s shippers and beneficial cargo owners.

This latest award follows US$160 million from the Oregon Legislature, around US $70 million in federal grants and a $25 million private-sector commitment from NorthPoint Development.

The Port of Coos Bay describes PCIP as the “first new container gateway planned for the US West Coast in a generation” while it is also the “nation’s first ship-to-rail container terminal designed to move nearly all landside cargo by rail.”