Negotiations continue on operator agreement for Dayton to Walla Walla rail line
By Griffin Beach on Thursday, December 11th, 2025 in Columbia Basin News Columbia Basin Top Stories
DAYTON – Negotiations continue between the Port of Columbia and Columbia Rail for a new lease agreement on the Dayton to Walla Walla rail line.
The current lease is due to expire Dec. 31, but both parties have agreed to extend it on a month-to-month basis while negotiations proceed.
Port Executive Director Jennie Dickinson said she recently conducted research to assist the port’s side of the negotiations, speaking with the state’s freight rail department and an attorney from the Washington Public Ports Association.
“The proposal that Paul (Didelius, Columbia Rail President) had made looked pretty complicated,” Dickinson said, noting that parts of the Columbia Rail’s offer involved split maintenance and revenue sharing. “Really the feedback I got from everyone is that there’s really no possible way we could take responsibility for this portion of the line (Dayton to Prescott as proposed by Didelius) because then it basically makes us a rail operator.”
Dickinson said she obtained a copy of the lease the state uses with its rail operators and used it to develop a counter-offer. Her proposal includes the Port contributing maintenance costs to Columbia Rail for the upkeep of the line. She proposed an annual contribution of $25,000 for these costs.
Additionally, she mentioned that the Port would reacquire farm leases along the track’s right-of-way, which would generate revenue for the Port.
Dickinson also proposed that a track condition report be conducted at the beginning of the lease to serve as a future benchmark. She added that the Port would work with Columbia Rail on securing grants and making capital improvements.
Tourism, she noted, must also be a component of the agreement.
“(Tourism) is just expensive and complicated so it would be something we’d have to work out together,” Dickinson said.
She also mentioned during her presentation that Columbia Rail has finalized a deal with Union Pacific to transport shipments to Wallula.
Overall, Dickinson described the conversations as positive and said the representatives she spoke with would report to Didelius before getting back to her.
“There’s lots of details still to work out,” she concluded.
