New Railroad Possibilities for Boise Posted: May 20, 2010 10:41 AM PDT Updated: May 20, 2010 10:41 AM PDT New Railroad Possibilities for Boise The city of Boise may be building a new railroad hub that will not only be environmentally friendly it'll also bring more jobs to the area. "It's a great day for economic development not only for Boise but all along the line and across the Valley," said Mayor Dave Bieter. The city of Boise entered an agreement with the Boise Valley Railroad to explore a $2-point 5 million dollar transportation hub that could be built right here in the Treasure Valley, it's a service that would be one of a kind in Idaho. "You have to go as far away as Portland to be able to get that kind of service," said Mayor Bieter. The BSU color theme train took Boise city leaders for a ride along what could be a future route through communities that never had this service before. "If we bring in more product and we don't haul it to another trans-modal sight we're going to have jobs in Idaho," said Watco Chief Operating Officer John Brown. The Watco train company, which operates the Boise valley railroad, said in the next 10-years the largest growth in the U.S. will be in the western states. They said there's no better time to plan for Idaho's future than right now. "Is to work through a strategy that sets us up in the future to move the correct amount of freight in the right way and not add congestion in the areas," said Brown.
