May 8, 2021 - TRA Newswire -

Watco announced earlier this week the start-up of a full-service rail, storage, and transloading facility near Refugio, Texas. The Refugio Transload Terminal is within the growing Corpus Christi, Rockport, and Sinton industrial areas and will handle bulk products, chemicals, oil and gas, wind energy, agriculture, and steel shipments.

The 222-acre terminal is served by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific railroads. It features 650 existing railcar spaces with plans for an expansion accommodating additional railcar storage space or a SIT (Storage in Transit) yard. The Refugio Transload Terminal has eight 2,000-ton concrete silos on site with state-of-the-art conveyer systems for handling bulk commodities. It will be able to transload from rail to silo to truck in any combination. The facility’s automatic truck transloading system will be able to rapidly fill from multiple lanes to maximize the terminal’s truck throughput.

“We are excited at the opportunity to bring in new customers to the facility and provide consistent and cost-effective storage, transportation and transloading options,” said Maureen Conaway Solomon, Watco Vice President of Sales. “By partnering for the future with our customers, we can create longterm value and immediate solutions to their supply chain needs.”

“Watco’s experienced staff is ready to help our customers grow their business and provide competitive transportation options to the Texas market,” said Solomon.

Watco operates six short line railroads in Texas. They are Austin Western Railroad (AWRR), Lubbock and Western Railroad (LBWR), Pecos Valley Southern Railway (PVS), San Antonio Central Railroad (SAC), Texas and New Mexico Railway (TXN) and Timber Rock Railroad (TIBR). The company operates a number of short lines and distribution centers around the U.S.