(1) The transportation management firm hired under RCW 47.76.420(3) shall manage the day-to-day operations of the railcars, such as monitoring the location of the cars, returning them to this state, distributing them, arranging for pretrips and repairs, and arranging for per diem, mileage allowances, and other freight billing charges with the railroads.

(2) The railcar pool must be managed over the life of the railcars so that the railcars will be distributed to railroads and port districts around the state for produce loadings as market conditions warrant or to other users, including out-of-state users by contractual agreement, during times of excess capacity.

(3) To maximize railcar availability and use, the department or the transportation management firm may make agreements with the transcontinental railroad systems to pool Washington-owned or Washington-managed railcars with those of the railroads. In such instances, the railroad must agree to provide immediately an equal number of railcars to the Washington railcar pool.

(4) The department shall act in an oversight role to verify that the railcar pool is managed in accordance with subsections (2) and (3) of this section.