Watco Companies, LLC (Watco), a company providing transportation, terminal, port, supply chain and mechanical solutions, operates 35 railroad lines in North America including a number of short-lines which serve local and business-focused transportation needs. Recently, Watco added the Kanawha River Railroad (KRR) to its inventory of short lines through an acquisition, which included its VHF communications equipment. The Kanawha consists of more than 300 miles of track running from Refugee, Ohio to Maben, West Virginia. KRR began operating on July 31 transporting energy, agriculture and chemical products.
Seeking assistance with spectrum matters, Watco contacted EWA to secure both spectrum capacity and licenses for its operations from both the Industrial/Business/Land Transportation pool and “Location Narrowband” service, necessary to control switches, tracks and the loading and unloading of rail cars.
EWA’s coordination services on the project involved eight VHF FCC applications, covering 37 locations with two railroad frequencies at each location. The American Association of Railroads (AAR), the frequency coordinator for railroad channels, provided a letter of interservice concurrence for each application, and the EWA/AAR collaboration resulted in the submittal of multiple Watco applications to the FCC. Associated activities included the preparation of eight requests for Special Temporary Authority (STA), which, when approved by the FCC, would allow the railroad to begin operations immediately. While the STAs were precautionary measures, they were not needed as, due to the FCC’s licensing efficiencies, permanent licenses were issued within 30 days.
“I’m so pleased EWA was able to have the Kanawha’s FCC licenses issued before the targeted launch date,” said Executive Director of Spectrum Solutions Cecilia Hayes, who managed this project. “In less than one month, we were able to both secure AAR concurrence and FCC approval.”