Port of Long Beach Begins Massive Rail Yard Expansion

The rail yard at the Port of Long Beach, one of the nation’s busiest, is about to double in size after the port breaks ground on a massive expansion project later this year, reports Isabel Sami in L.A. Business First.

The project centers on a $1.6-billion on-dock rail support facility that will expand the yard from 11 to 48 rail tracks and “enhance on-dock rail capacity at the port’s shipping terminals by expanding the existing Pier B rail yard and connecting it to on-dock rail facilities and the Alameda Corridor railway.”

The entire project is slated for completion by 2032, with some components becoming operational sooner. According to Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero, “completion of the project will reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 26%, sulfur oxide emissions by 80% and particulate matter by about 85%” by streamlining rail operations and reducing truck trips. “Cordero said the project will get more trucks off the road, cutting emissions from the diesel-powered trucks that the port is looking to eliminate.”

The project is partly funded by $158 million from the California State Transportation Agency and  $79 million in grant funding from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the U.S. Department of Transportation.