POLA begins railyard construction

The US$137.7m rail project is being carried out at Berth 200, also known as the West Basin Railyard. Once constructed, the railyard will reportedly create around 2,000 direct and indirect jobs and is expected to generate US$1bn in annual state revenues by 2030.

A new yard will also move cargo more safely and efficiently, reduce truck traffic on roads and will improve regional air quality by reducing harmful emissions by 593,955 tonnes over a 20 year period.

Geraldine Knatz, executive director, POLA, said: “The port’s top priorities are competitive operations, strong relationships and financial strength. This project hits all three marks by allowing us to move cargo more safely and efficiently, making us a better business partner and neighbour to our surrounding communities, and procuring federal and state funding to make the best use of port dollars.”

Funding for the project has been secured from the US Department of Transportation’s Transport Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) programme (US$16m), State Proposition 1B Trade Corridors Improvement Fund (TCIF) Grant (US$51.2m) and from METRO awarded federal funds (US$22.1m). The port is also investing US$48.37m of its own money.

The port’s container volumes made progress in 2012. The total number of containers shifted for 2012 was 8,077,714 teu compared to 7,940,510 teu in 2011, a 1.7% increase in overall cargo volumes.