A new chapter in regional logistics
The Rail-Truck Transload Center is one of four properties managed by Spokane International Airport. This brand-new facility expands the airport’s role beyond aviation and into multimodal freight, allowing goods to transfer seamlessly between rail cars and trucks.
Facility Overview and Strategic Location
The Center is strategically located in Spokane’s West Plains – one of the fastest growing areas in Washington State – near four Interstate 90 interchanges, Class 1 rail lines, and the Airport’s commercial and cargo freight offerings. It includes over four miles of rail serving a 200,000-square-foot freight loading and circulation area and was originally constructed to meet the demands of Spokane’s growing manufacturing and industrial firms.
- Address: 3911 S. Craig Road
- 1.7 miles of new track alignment
- Two loading tracks with 2,000’ clear length
- One running track
- Five turnouts
- 182,650 sq. ft concrete circulation area for freight truck movement
- Foreign-Trade Zone #224
- BNSF Certified Site
Environmental benefits
The Center provides the Inland Northwest region with several additional benefits, including:
- Reduced greenhouse emissions: According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), every ton-mile (the metric used by the freight industry to measure emissions generated by shipping one ton of product, one mile) completed by a typical freight truck incurs approximately three times more nitrogen oxide emissions than shipping the same equivalent weight by rail. Depending on the pollutant measured, studies suggest trucks emit six to 12 times more pollutants per ton-mile than rail. Over its lifecycle, the Center is expected to reduce 140,000 pounds of emissions, including 65,604 tons of carbon dioxide, 322 tons of fine particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds.
- Increased environmental sustainability: The Rail-Truck Transload Center can accommodate two freight trains per day, each carrying 50 rail containers. In addition to being more than four times more fuel efficient than trucks, on average, one train can remove more than 20 trucks from local roads and interstate systems, reducing unnecessary traffic volumes and emissions that result from idle or slow-moving traffic.
Development opportunities
The Transload Center offers opportunities for businesses looking to leverage multimodal freight infrastructure. For information about available capacity, services or partnership opportunities, contact our development team.
Todd Woodard, Director of Marketing & Public Affairs
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 509-455-6455