Driving north on Hwy 95 I watched long, empty trains heading towards Canada. Most of the cars had Canadian logos, and a few had BNSF on the side. I also saw trains that must have entered through Canada that were now heading south.

Because of my address drama and my research on the Patriot Act, I often process events and thoughts now through the “terrorist lens”.  What would a terrorist do, I wonder about everything. For example, are trains originating in Canada an easy entry point for terrorists? How does the US and Canada prevent terrorist movement across our borders? These ruminations led to a great deal of Internet research.

First: do trains often cross into the US? What do they carry? Why trains?

Yes, many freight trains move from Canada to the US and the US to Canada, importing and exporting all kinds of stuff. I KNOW that trains cross often because I listened to them as I tried to sleep about 100 feet from a major train staging area in Bonner’s Ferry, ID. Some stats:

• 45% of all our crude oil imports comes from Canada
• Since 2010, 99% of their crude oil comes to the US, mostly to Midwest refinerys, but only 3% comes by rail, the rest through pipelines that already exist that we never complained about.

These are what many of the train engines hauled: oil-carrying cars from Procor, a company that leases train cars to industry

And, the flow of goods goes both ways, some by train, others by land or air:

• Canada is currently our 2nd largest goods trading partner with $575 billion in total (two-way) goods trade during 2015. Goods exports totaled $280 billion; goods imports totaled $295 billion. The U.S. goods trade deficit with Canada was $15 billion in 2015.
• According to the Department of Commerce, U.S. exports of goods and services to Canada supported an estimated 1.7 million jobs in 2014 (latest data available) (1.3 million supported by goods exports and 394 thousand supported by services exports).
• The top export categories (2-digit HS) in 2015 were: vehicles ($48 billion), machinery ($43 billion), electrical machinery ($25 billion), mineral fuels ($21 billion), and plastics ($13 billion).
• S. exports of agricultural products to Canada totaled $24 billion in 2015, our largest agricultural export market. Leading categories include: prepared food ($1.9 billion), fresh vegetables ($1.9 billion), fresh fruit ($1.6 billion), snack foods  ($1.3 billion), and non-alcoholic bev. (ex. juices) ($1.2 billion).
• S. exports of services to Canada were an estimated $57.3 billion in 2015, 6.6% ($4.0 billion) less than 2014, but 74.8% greater than 2005 levels. It was up roughly 237% from 1993 (pre-NAFTA). Based on 2014, leading services exports from the U.S. to Canada were in the travel, intellectual property (software and audio-visual), and transportation sectors.

Several Canadian train lines connect with the US lines.Once in the US, the main routes extend from Chicago all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.  I was happy to learn a bit about the line I saw as I drove up and down HWY 95 in the Idaho Panhandle (which I recommend to anyone who likes spectacular mountain scenery).  Eastport, ID is the point of entry going either direction. From there, these particular Canadian trains run to the southwest, through Spokane, WA to an enormous train yard in Hinkle, OR and then to Portland, OR. Wikipedia says this about Eastport, ID:

Nestled in the beautiful Moyie River canyon on U.S. Hwy 95, Eastport is the major Port of Entry from Canada into Idaho. This port is a 24 hour port, with customs brokers available and a duty free shop.  On the Canadian side the port is called Kingsgate. The Eastport area has much historical significance as it was on a well traveled route long before the first road was ever built. The Wild Horse Trail  of 1860’s gold rush fame followed this route and in 1909, the first track connecting the Canadian Pacific Railroad to Idaho rail lines was completed here.

Why trains? They are green, cheap, and efficient.

And my other question: are these trains easy transportation into the US, for a terrorist? Toot, tooooooot, toot. We will arrive at that station tomorrow.