The project includes staging and storage tracks for adjacent on-dock railyards for the China Shipping/West Basin Container Terminal and Trans Pacific Container Service Corp. (TraPac), and the short-line railroad that switches for the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway and other terminals. Total cost of the project which includes the removal of two at-grade rail-highway crossings is estimated at approximately US$125m.
The West Basin Railyard provides a staging and railcar storage area for trains entering from or departing the Alameda Corridor, a 20-mile rail link between the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the national railway system that transports about 15% of all marine containers entering or leaving the US.
In addition to TIGER II, the Port has also secured other state and local funds and will contribute about US$50m of its own capital funds towards the project. Construction is expected to start in the first quarter of 2011 with completion scheduled toward the end of 2013.
Project benefits cited by the port include shifting container transport from trucks to on-dock rail resulting in a reduction of 2,300 daily truck trips and reduced pollutants and greenhouse gases.
