Freight plans

Several plans guide our development of a freight transportation system that supports the economic vitality of Washington state. Explore information on freight plans, rail plan, truck parking, and the PCC short line railroad.

The state's multimodal freight transportation system allows businesses in Washington to effectively compete in regional and global markets. Freight transportation is critical to supporting and growing jobs, more regional domestic product, as well as ensuring residents have the goods they need in their daily lives.

To learn more about how freight drives our state's economy, watch this Freight Virtual Tour video that was created to inform Legislators and the public on topics of importance to freight movement.

Washington State Rail Plan

Serving freight and passengers, the rail system provides efficient transportation critical to maintaining our economy, environment and quality of life. We prepare a State Rail Plan every five years. Its purpose is to provide a framework for future actions that meets federal and state requirements.

Truck parking plans

Learn about how WSDOT and its partners are exploring increasing safe truck parking spaces, which truck drivers use for their mandated rest periods.

2022 Freight System Plan

The Washington Freight System Plan examines all modes of freight movement - including trucks, airplanes, rail, barges and cargo ships.

National Highway Freight Program

Funding is available for local freight transportation projects in Washington state under the National Highway Freight Program.

Washington Freight and Goods Transportation System

The Freight and Goods Transportation System (FGTS) is a distinctive classification system for multimodal freight corridors in Washington State. This system categorizes freight corridors for trucks, rail and waterways based on annual freight tonnage movement along them. WSDOT designates and updates the FGTS system biennially to comply with state legislative requirements, assist in transportation planning efforts, and guide freight investment strategies.

The 2025 FGTS update was released in December 2025 providing the products below:

An amendment to the 2025 FGTS report with additional county data will be posted at the end of April 2026. Please see the Changes to 2025 FGTS Update (p. 3) section of the Washington State Freight and Goods Transportation System (FGTS) 2025 Update for more details.

Palouse River and Coulee City (PCC) Rail System Strategic Plan

WSDOT owns the the 298-mile Palouse River and Coulee City (PCC) short line rail system in eastern Washington. The PCC Rail System Strategic Plan was completed in May 2015. The plan outlines the vision and goals for the system and communicates which policies and funding are needed to achieve the goals.

In 2023, the PCC system (PDF 316KB) received a $72.8 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration that is being matched by $39.2 million in state, local and private funds. This provides a total project budget of $112 million for capital improvements.

Work is currently underway to begin construction in 2024. Improvements will include replacement of worn rail; replacement of rotten railroad ties; rebuilding dilapidated roadway crossings; and surfacing of tracks.

2020 Washington Freight Stakeholder Group

Under the direction of the 2020 Washington State Legislature, WSDOT convened a freight stakeholder group to develop recommendations for a Washington freight advisory committee. The proposed committee will follow federal requirements found in the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act and other relevant legislation. This stakeholder group has completed its work and published the Freight Stakeholder Group Final Report (PDF 484KB).