Watch: POLB Prepares for ‘Year of Rail’

“At the end of this decade, the Port of Long Beach will be on the cusp of not only operational transformation given our rail investment, but also environmental transformation—to a zero-emission port,” CEO Mario Cordero said during his seventh annual “State of the Port” address. (POLB Photograph)

Port of Long Beach (POLB) CEO Mario Cordero on Jan. 17 gave a “State of the Port” address, highlighting rail facility modernization and air quality improvement efforts that will continue through 2024, as well as 2023’s cargo volume statistics.

Cordero told some 800 industry partners, community members and civic leaders (watch below) that construction will start this year on the Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility, which will help speed cargo movement, make the port more competitive, and improve the environment for nearby communities.

“Today, I can represent to you that the state of our Green Port is strong,” Cordero said. “We have gone through one of the greatest challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic—and we’ve emerged, still the premier gateway for trans-Pacific trade. At the end of this decade, the POLB will be on the cusp of not only operational transformation given our rail investment, but also environmental transformation—to a zero-emission port.”

According to POLB, the centerpiece of its on-dock rail projects is the Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility, which will double the size of the existing Pier B rail yard from 82 acres to 171 acres, and more than triple the volume of on-dock rail capacity handled annually from 1.5 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) to 4.7 million TEUs. It will also feature a depot for fueling and servicing up to 30 locomotives at the same time and a full-service staging area to assemble and break down trains up to 10,000 feet long. The overall project will be built in phases with completion scheduled for 2032.

Constructing the facility will involve adding more than 130,000 feet of rail, quadrupling the number of tracks from 12 to 48, widening the rail bridge over the Dominguez Channel from two to three tracks, and reconfiguring and improving nearby Pico Avenue and Pier B Street.

More than 1,100 construction-related jobs will be created by the $1.567 billion Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility. The Port said it has so far secured $643 million in federal, state and local grant funding to help complete the project—more than $500 million of which was awarded in 2023 and includes the recent $283 million grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Mega Grant Program

POLB on Nov. 29 announced that after 15 years of planning, it would be going out to bid in early 2024 for the first construction contract.

Pier B is primarily operated by Pacific Harbor Line (PHL), an Anacostia Rail Holdings subsidiary that provides rail transportation, maintenance and dispatching services for POLB and the Port of Los Angeles. PHL has been testing its new EMD® Joule battery-electric locomotive from Progress Rail on the 96 miles of track connecting marine terminals to the Alameda Corridor. It interchanges with both Union Pacific and BNSF.

“This is the ‘Year of Rail,’” Cordero said during his address. “The Pier B showcase will allow for faster, cleaner movement of freight by eliminating rail bottlenecks and reconfiguring several roadways in our north harbor area.” He noted that Pier B’s benefits will not end at the Port’s property line. “We will link to a future 4,000-acre intermodal hub in Barstow being developed by BNSF,” he said.

Cordero also provided attendees with an overview of “rail achievements” in 2023. Among them: The Port completed construction of the Fourth Track at Ocean Boulevard project, “expanding capacity at a critical point in the Port’s rail network,” and began construction on the Terminal Island Wye Track Alignment project, which will boost cargo flow at the Port’s largest container terminal.”

POLB closed 2023 with 8,018,668 TEUs moved, down 12.2% from 2022 and slightly ahead of pre-pandemic levels reported in 2019, according to the Port. Imports fell 12.7% to 3,804,356 TEUs and exports dropped 9.4% to 1,282,437 TEUs. Empty containers moved through the Port were down 12.7% to 2,931,876 TEUs. Cordero noted the POLB and Port of Los Angeles together averaged 1 million TEUs per month in 2023, and by the end of the decade are expected to average 2 million TEUs per month.

POLB secured more than $792 million in grants from federal, state and local sources in 2023, which it said marked “a record year” of public investments for infrastructure, security and clean air initiatives that will further its goal of transitioning to zero-emission cargo handling by 2030 and zero-emissions trucking by 2035.

Cordero told attendees that he expects additional funding this year for several projects, including the Port’s effort to develop a “hydrogen hub” that would fuel cargo-handling equipment with zero-emissions technology.

Additionally, development work will continue this year for Pier Wind, a proposed 400-acre terminal designed to facilitate the assembly of offshore wind turbines, which would be towed to wind farms in the ocean off Central and Northern California. According to the Port, the project, if approved, would be the largest facility of its kind in the nation and would help California meet its goals for renewable energy sources.

Later this year, interactive and immersive exhibits highlighting the Port’s history, operational achievements, and environmental stewardship will be on display with the opening of the Congressman Alan Lowenthal Global Trade and Education Center. Located within the Port Administration Building in Civic Center Plaza, the 10,000-square-foot space is named for Lowenthal, a Democrat who represented Long Beach in the state legislature from 1998 to 2012 and in Congress for 10 years until his retirement in 2023.

In related developments, POLB on Dec. 28 released the latest installment of its Supply Chain Insight video series: “What’s In Store for ’24 and More!” Paul Bingham, Director of Transportation Consulting for Economics and Country Risk within S&P Global Market Intelligence, provided a cargo update, a rundown of the challenges facing two of the world’s key shipping routes, and a look ahead at 2024. Also, earlier this month, Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka outlined plans for 2024 in his “State of the Port” address.