Spokane, the second-largest city in Washington, serves as the commercial, industrial and transportation hub for a region spanning approximately 80,000 square miles over three states and two Canadian provinces. It anchors more than 100 aerospace suppliers that generate $1 billion in revenue and employ more than 8,000 workers – and the Airport’s Rail-Truck Transload Center plays an important role in propelling these goods into the global marketplace.

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.

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 pollutant 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 road and interstate systems, reducing unnecessary traffic volumes and emissions that result from idle or slow-moving traffic.