Barstow International Gateway project : BNSF Railway to invest $1.5bn in new rail facility

BNSF Railway, an American railroad company, is set to invest more than $1.5 billion to build the Barstow International Gateway project, an integrated rail complex on the west side of Barstow in Southern California.

Barstow International Gateway Project Details

To be constructed over approximately 4,500 acres of area, the Barstow International Gateway will include a rail yard, intermodal facility and warehouses for transloading freight from international containers to domestic containers.

The integrated rail factory in Barstow is expected to create 20,000 direct and indirect jobs, apart from lessening port and freeway congestion around the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Gene Seroka — Port of Los Angeles Executive Director, commenting on the Barstow International Gateway project, said: “BNSF’s planned Barstow International Gateway will improve cargo velocity through our port and reduce truck traffic on our freeways. This project will help ensure that goods moving through the San Pedro Bay will get to consumers, businesses and manufacturers with speed and reliability.”

BNSF Railway to invest $1.5 billion in Barstow International Gateway project. Photo courtesy of Business Wire.

The Barstow rail facility will enable the direct transfer of containers from ships at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to trains, which will transport them through the Alameda Corridor onto the mainline up of BNSF Railway to Barstow.

Upon reaching the Barstow International Gateway, the containers will undergo processing using clean-energy powered cargo-handling equipment.

Later, they will be staged and built into trains moving east through the network of BNSF Railway across the nation.

Why BNSF Railway wants to develop the Barstow International Gateway project

Commenting on the Barstow International Gateway project, Katie Farmer — BNSF Railway CEO and President, said: “By allowing for more efficient transfer of cargo directly between ships and rail, the Barstow International Gateway will maximize rail and distribution efficiency regionally and across the U.S. supply chain and reduce truck traffic and freeway congestion in the Los Angeles Basin and the Inland Empire.

“This will play a critical role in improving fluidity throughout our rail network, moving containers off the ports quicker, and facilitating improved efficiency at our existing intermodal hubs, including those in the Midwest and Texas. The facility will also have an important positive economic impact, including the creation of new, local railroad jobs.”