TCI to Reinstate Temperature-Controlled Intermodal Rail Service in Eastern WA

Tri-Cities Intermodal (TCI) reports that it will develop an intermodal center in Wallula, Wash., to support local agriculture. (TCI Photograph)

Tri-Cities Intermodal (TCI) on Oct. 10 reported signing a lease/purchase agreement with Union Pacific (UP) to acquire the former Cold Connect warehouse and property, with plans to develop an adjacent intermodal ramp in Wallula, Wash., which the company said represent a “revival of plans previously announced by Tiger Cool Express before it shut down operations in June.”

TCI said it is “an entirely new company–and the transaction had no connection to Tiger Cool.” Theodore Prince, former Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Kansas City-based Tiger Cool Express, serves as TCI’s CEO and Founder.

TCI said it is backed by PNW Capital. James Delaney, who runs the investment firm, is assuming the role of Non-Executive Chairman at TCI, which noted that Delaney is “an accomplished entrepreneur renowned for his successes in the B2C sectors, particularly within regulated goods such as wine.”

In June, Tiger Infrastructure Partners, the private equity group that owned Tiger Cool Express, “pulled its funding … forcing the company to close and putting more than 50 people out of work,” a source with knowledge of the company’s operations who did not want to be identified told the Journal of Commerce on June 14. 

The carrier of refrigerated perishable products, which the Journal of Commerce called “a victim of weak demand for domestic intermodal and low trucking rates that took away market share,” had been expanding its footprint in Washington state and Oregon, and had announced in May the opening of a Tri-Cities Logistics Center in Washington state, which was the 67-acre former UP Cold Connect facility in Wallula. UP at that time said site volume by 2024 was to reach more than 22,000 annual container shipments of regional commodities like onions, apples, wine, pears and potatoes. According to a June 14 Kansas City Business Journal report, with Tiger Cool Express shutting down, the Tri-Cities Logistics Center would need to find a new operator as UP “hoped to be in operation by August.”

According to TCI, its newly “envisioned” Tri-Cities Intermodal Center “will benefit the entire agricultural community in the three-state region by providing cost-effective and sustainable transportation capacity.” Service is initially intended to be offered between Wallula and the Northwest Seaport Alliance on-dock facilities for dry imports and exports (in ISO equipment) and will support UP’s intermodal customers moving between Wallula and Chicago and beyond, the company reported.

The TCI management team is to comprise Justin Roberts as Vice President-Operations; Tom Smith as Vice President-Sales and Marketing; and Zachary Ybarra as Vice President-Planning, Control and Information Systems. Others on the team will include Cameron Kelley, Liam Marsh, Felicia Moore and Keith Woetzel, the company reported.

“It is fantastic to have line of sight to actual operation within three to four months,” TCI’s Theodore Prince said on Oct. 10. “We were very fortunate to find an investor with the foresight, along with Union Pacific’s support to bring this project to fruition.”

“This proposition stands as a superb concept, bolstered by a highly capable team and situated within an exceptionally favorable business environment,” PNW Capital’s James Delaney said. We are very excited to include Tri-Cities within our distinguished portfolio.”

“We are excited about Tri-Cities Intermodal advancing an initiative that will remove thousands of trucks from the highway,” UP Senior Vice President-Premium, Marketing and Sales Kari Kirchhoefer said. “This is a region that continues to grow in logistical importance, and we look forward to supporting its growth with safe, reliable service.”