Panelists underscore Columbia River's central role in regional trade and rail's rapid recovery after quakes

Panelists at an AWB event in Vancouver emphasized the Columbia River corridor's importance to regional trade and described rail's role in rapid recovery after major earthquakes.

Johan Hellman of BNSF said the Pacific Northwest is a crucial gateway for commodity and manufactured goods and that the region's mix of trucks, trains and ships — including BNSF on the river's north shore and UP on the south shore — is a major competitive asset. "Having two class 1 railroads running parallel along each other... that's a huge asset for the whole region," he said, and urged continued freight prioritization in state policy.

Rep. Stephanie McClintock, speaking also from her perspective with United Grain, highlighted barge efficiency — she said one barge can replace scores of semi trucks — and criticized what she described as state spending on studies of removing Snake River dams. She noted about "$2,500,000 on studies" and argued those decisions are federal, not state, responsibilities. McClintock also raised concerns about replacing hydropower and cited fish passage statistics discussed in the session.

Hellman added a disaster‑resilience note: he said rail infrastructure historically recovers quickly after earthquakes, citing that trains were running within 24 hours after the Nisqually quake, and described exercises with local and state officials to ensure rapid movement of materials and crews after a seismic event.

Panelists urged policymakers to factor the multimodal river corridor into freight and infrastructure planning, and to avoid solutions (such as relying solely on highway alternatives) that do not scale to the region’s barge and rail capacity.