THE Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway has announced plans to build a US$1.5 billion California rail complex consisting of a yard and warehouses for transloading from international to domestic containers, reports Trains magazine of Milwaukee.
The Barstow International Gateway, to be on the west side of the community in the southern California desert, already the site of a major bnsf yard and shop facility, will cover 4,500 acres.
Containers will be transferred directly from ships to trains which will bring them to Barstow, where they will be processed and built into trains moving east. Trains arriving from the east will be similarly processed for cargo movements to the ports.
BNSF chief executive Katie Farmer said the facility 'will maximise rail and distribution efficiency regionally and across the US supply chain and reduce truck traffic and freeway congestion in the Los Angeles Basin and the Inland Empire,' and improve operations at existing intermodal hubs in the Midwest, Texas and elsewhere.
Port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka said the project will 'improve cargo velocity through our port' and 'help ensure that goods moving through the San Pedro Bay will get to consumers, businesses, and manufacturers with speed and reliability.'
BNSF also says the new facility will directly and indirectly create 20,000 jobs.
'Projects like BNSF's will work to strengthen our inland local economies,' said Treyland Bradley, deputy director of sustainable freight and supply chain development at the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development.
'We look forward to continuing to work with projects like these, as well as others, to drive transformative investments that will enhance and elevate California's supply-chain ecosystem for a more efficient and resilient tomorrow,' he said.
This is the second major project announced in a matter of weeks that seeks to move LA and Long Beach port traffic by rail to an inland location for further processing.
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The Barstow International Gateway, to be on the west side of the community in the southern California desert, already the site of a major bnsf yard and shop facility, will cover 4,500 acres.
Containers will be transferred directly from ships to trains which will bring them to Barstow, where they will be processed and built into trains moving east. Trains arriving from the east will be similarly processed for cargo movements to the ports.
BNSF chief executive Katie Farmer said the facility 'will maximise rail and distribution efficiency regionally and across the US supply chain and reduce truck traffic and freeway congestion in the Los Angeles Basin and the Inland Empire,' and improve operations at existing intermodal hubs in the Midwest, Texas and elsewhere.
Port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka said the project will 'improve cargo velocity through our port' and 'help ensure that goods moving through the San Pedro Bay will get to consumers, businesses, and manufacturers with speed and reliability.'
BNSF also says the new facility will directly and indirectly create 20,000 jobs.
'Projects like BNSF's will work to strengthen our inland local economies,' said Treyland Bradley, deputy director of sustainable freight and supply chain development at the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development.
'We look forward to continuing to work with projects like these, as well as others, to drive transformative investments that will enhance and elevate California's supply-chain ecosystem for a more efficient and resilient tomorrow,' he said.
This is the second major project announced in a matter of weeks that seeks to move LA and Long Beach port traffic by rail to an inland location for further processing.
SeaNews Turkey
