Tri-Cities Intermodal steams ahead to move cargo across US, the globe

Tri-Cities Intermodal is connecting Walla Walla County and other area producers to a more streamlined pathway for product transportation.

With the region generating plentiful crops of onions, potatoes, apples, and other perishable produce, along with wine, the need for reliable and fast transportation from local to global markets is great. That's why Ted Prince, CEO and founder of Tri-Cities Intermodal, 627 Railex Road in Wallula, is working to fill in a gap in the rail transport industry in Walla Walla and surrounding counties.

"This will become the North American logistics nexus because it has land, labor, water and electricity," Prince said. "Nobody else has that. It is a completely unique thing."

Intermodal transportation in shipping is the movement of goods using multiple modes of transportation such as trucks, trains, ships and/or airplanes within a single journey.

Prince said Tri-Cities Intermodal serves as a gateway, moving goods east across the United States and west across the ocean to other countries.

The road to creating the logistics center hasn't exactly been smooth for Prince or his team with a number of challenges surfacing along the way.

In October 2023, Tri-Cities Intermodal signed a lease/purchase agreement to acquire the warehouse and property with plans to develop an adjacent intermodal ramp. The plan signaled a resurgence of a project previously unveiled as Tiger Cool Express, a rail shipping and logistics company based in Overland Park, Kan., that ceased operations in June 2023 amid concerns about its financial stability. Prince is a former executive director and co-founder of Tiger Cool Express.

"We finally had it all worked out and then right at that point, our investors reneged on a bank guarantee, and we were out of business," he said. "I felt really strongly about this opportunity, so I went out and was able to find money to do this."

Prince, who is a lifelong intermodalist, has worked in all aspects of the surface freight transportation and has more than 40 years in the industry. As a past chairman of the Intermodal Association of North America and a recipient of the Silver Kingpin, Prince has been recognized for a lifetime contribution to the freight transportation industry.

He said Tri-Cities Intermodal strategically sits in an area that, if done right, could eventually become as big and well known as the port of Singapore or Rotterdam, Netherlands, which the largest seaport in Europe.

The Wallula-based facility, formerly Cold Connect, is the first intermodal center east of Portland and Seattle and is near the confluence of the Snake and Columbia rivers. Prince said connecting barges and trucks to the rail system will work to reduce highway congestion, moving product from the Northwest to East Coast markets.

"The distance to the port is not as important in comparison to what that location offers," he said. "We're offering a rail conveyor belt that is cheaper than shipping with a truck. Economically, it makes sense."

The facility will work to convert highway transportation to rail while reducing highway congestion specifically on I-90 going over Snoqualmie Pass. Additionally, the center will address supply-chain complexity, greenhouse gas emission and transportation expense. To help reduce the stress of supply chain management, Prince said the company works to make the movement between port and inland seamless for importers and exporters. The company also provides real-time tracking tools and information to monitor cargo as it moves.

In addition to local and regional produce, the intermodal center will handle containers for ports of Seattle and Tacoma and will have the capacity for 5,000 monthly lifts. This could equate to up to 75,000 annual container shipments of products.

Earlier in February, the intermodal organization moved its first load to the Northwest Seaport Alliance's Port of Tacoma, transporting 270 tons of local hay grown for export by Ag West International. Prince said his company will start with agricultural exports first because it is a traded commodity with competition in the global market. Prince said there already is a list of potential clients who would benefit from intermodal transportation.

"If you look at what the cost is for a hay shipper here, you'll see that you pay more to ship it than to grow it," he said. "If we could make it easier for them, they would want to use our service. That's what we're doing."

The intermodal property spans 67 acres and includes a 200,000-square-foot refrigerated warehouse, 19 enclosed refrigerated rail docs, 38 refrigerated truck docks and a two-mile rail loop track. Prince said Tri-Cities Intermodal does not have plans to use the warehouse but is expecting to lease the space to other operators. Previously, the space was occupied by Cold Connect, which Union Pacific Railroad operated, closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the warehouse has sat empty.

Prince said he is excited to see where the future of intermodal importing and exporting will be in the next decade. So far, he said he has received support from local and state governments as well as other organizations who champion green transportation and less congested freeways.

Pat Reay, executive director of the Port of Walla Walla, said the development of the logistics center goes directly in line with the Port's mission to enhance the economic vitality of Walla Walla County through job creation and retention of family-wage jobs.

"Tri-Cities Intermodal project will provide additional jobs to the region, as a result of expanding the intermodal capacity of the region, state and the Northwest," Reay said. "This project will provide truck trip reduction across I-90 and provide reduced truck traffic at the gates of the Seaport Alliance. By using rail from the seaports — Port of Seattle and Tacoma — this logistical platform will improve safety, economic strength and global competitiveness to the region while improving equity, climate, and sustainability to the region."

Prince said Tri-Cities Intermodal will create a number of family-wage jobs, especially when the refrigerated warehouse is leased. He said this will create a residual effect where local businesses will see more customers coming into their establishments. Just down the road sits the Port of Walla Walla's Burbank Business Park, which has a convenience store and restaurants.

"Everywhere we go in the state people have been able to see the benefits of intermodal transportation," Prince said. "We just think this is a great opportunity for everyone. This is the type of innovation we need to support all of Washington."