ROYAL CITY — The Port of Royal Slope heard an idea this week from the Eastern Washington Gateway Railroad about charging a fee to store rail cars near Royal City.

The idea could bring the port $735,000 in estimated annual revenue, money that could be used to repair the line, according to John Howell, the president of Eastern Washington Gateway Railroad.

The port doesn’t own the former Milwaukee Railroad line near Royal City, but is interested in reopening it for area companies to ship their products.

The state Department of Transportation (DOT) owns the rail line.

“Officially, we’re not part of the picture, but unofficially, we’re here, the contact point for shippers,” Port Commissioner Alan Schrom said Thursday.

“We’re interested in getting it back in service and using it again,” Schrom commented. “It would be a huge asset to advertise the industrial park has rail service again.”

Howell said the railroad wanted to express its interest to the port as being considered as a potential operator.

The idea to store cars isn’t a final solution, but perhaps a way to raise money for line repairs, he added.

Earlier this year, the port applied for $1.5 million in stimulus money to replace rotten railroad ties and reopen 26 miles of railroad line.

The port is still waiting to hear if it will receive the federal money.

Schrom explained the port is “kind of in queue for state funding in the future.”

A state DOT engineer is visiting Royal City in October to provide an engineering evaluation to determine the current state of the ties, rail, grade and vegetation work.

With the car storage idea, the ties don’t have to be fixed, he noted. 

But vegetation and rocks must be cleared, bolts and spikes repaired and paved-over crossings dug out, he added.

The port likely won’t do further work on the storage idea until discussions happen with the DOT engineer, Schrom commented.

The port will explore the idea with the DOT and see what’s possible, he added.

The railroad is storing empty coal cars and center beam cars near Coulee City as a way to supplement the railroad’s income, Howell said.