Oklahoma port pursues capacity growth with unit train project

By Bridget Dean, Senior Associate Editor 

The Tulsa Port of Catoosa in northern Oklahoma is one of the largest inland riverports in the United States, with a 2,000-acre industrial park and access to shipping via barge, truck and rail. By the end of November, the port expects to complete the first phase of a project designed to add unit-train handling to its slate of offerings.

Manifest trains currently arrive at the port via a 3.2-mile BNSF Railway mainline, which is owned by Tulsa Ports and leased to the Class I. Tulsa Ports' unit train facility project calls for adding a second rail access point specifically for unit trains, which the port does not actively receive. The new route will also be clear of grade crossings at the main entrance of the port, says Tulsa Ports Deputy Director Daniel Grisham.

"That way, it's clear flow and easy access," he says. "I'm not having to jumble all those cars in with my current manifest."

The project's $23 million first phase entails adding new arrival, departure and runaround tracks and a crossover to tie into the manifest interchange. The arrival and departure tracks each will stretch about 8,300 feet in length. Tulsa Ports has already awarded the construction contract for the project's second phase, which calls for connecting the new first-phase tracks with the main rail infrastructure on the backside of the port.

The second phase also involves construction of a single-span through-plate girder bridge, which will be more than 200 feet long and one of the longest bridges of its kind in United States, Grisham says. Crews this week started mobilizing to clear the path for phase-two work. Once clear, the path with be graded and crews will begin moving utilities in January 2027. Trackwork is expected to start in March. The entire new line should be up and running by late 2027, Grisham estimates.

Tulsa Ports anticipates the first phase will wrap up before December.Tulsa Port of Catoosa

Opportunity for growth

Oklahoma's state legislature allocated funding for the unit-train project, which will make the Port of Catoosa — and the industrial park — a more desirable place to do business. It will also drive traffic growth for the port's switching operator, says Scott Eubank, senior director of transload sales for OmniTRAX Inc., which became the Port of Catoosa's exclusive rail switching service provider in 2022.

The Port of Catoosa Industrial Railroad (PCIR) operates five days a week on port-owned infrastructure. The short line connects customers with BNSF and Watco's South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad, which interchanges with Union Pacific Railroad and CPKC. OmniTRAX plans to increase staffing at the PCIR to handle unit-train building in addition to serving existing customers.

Although the port is technically capable of accepting unit trains with its current infrastructure, mixing the two types of trains would cause "operational nightmares" for BNSF and PCIR, says Grisham. Adding a separate route will enable the port to simultaneously accept and dispatch manifest and unit trains, thereby increasing overall capacity. The new line will provide new opportunities and options for current shippers and new shippers in northeast Oklahoma, the surrounding area and the western U.S., says Grisham.

Catoosa is a major inland hub for industrial and agriculture goods. Grain, fertilizer, steel, liquid bulk, energy products, chemicals, aggregates, industrial goods, oversize and over-dimensional products move through the port. During a standard crop season, hundreds of trucks arrive at the port to load dry fertilizers arriving inland via trains and barges. When the unit-train project is completed, even more goods will arrive and depart via rail at the port, driving more through traffic, Grisham says.

"Just by having this operation, we're able to market the capacity," adds Eubank. "[Unit-train handling] will be a great asset to have at the Port of Catoosa. It's a great differentiator to other ports in the region."