BNSF Railway has received Barstow City Council approval for the Barstow International Gateway project in California.
The project will include a rail yard, intermodal facility and transload warehouses. BNSF plans to use the site to transfer freight from international containers into domestic containers after arrival from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Containers will move from the San Pedro Bay ports by rail through the Alameda Corridor and onto the BNSF mainline to Barstow. At the Barstow International Gateway, containers will be processed, staged and assembled into trains for eastbound movement across BNSF’s network. Westbound freight will also be consolidated at the site for trains returning to the ports and other California terminals.
The facility will use zero-emission rail-mounted gantry cranes, hybrid rubber-tired gantry cranes, zero-emission forklifts and hostlers, and electric plug-ins for refrigerated units. The company has also signed memoranda of understanding with the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District and the California Air Resources Board covering zero-emission technology demonstrations and emissions reduction work.
The Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District agreement includes battery-electric switcher locomotive demonstrations. BNSF has also agreed to replace existing switcher locomotives at its Barstow facility with Tier 4 switcher locomotives.
BNSF projects the Barstow International Gateway will remove about 205 million truck miles travelled in 2028, 269 million in 2033 and 312 million in 2048. The facility is intended to shift part of the container processing now handled near the ports to an inland rail hub.
The company expects the project to support about 62,000 construction-related jobs and 15,000 long-term operational jobs, including direct, indirect and induced employment in San Bernardino County. For the City of Barstow, BNSF projects 5,400 new direct jobs, USD 938m in total earnings and USD 2.9bn in total economic output over the first 20 years of operation.
The project also includes channel works to reduce flooding, replacement of the Hinkley Road bridge over the Mojave River and road circulation changes covering traffic flow, safety and emergency access.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has certified the Barstow International Gateway under SB 149, which accelerates qualifying infrastructure projects. It is the first transportation-related project to receive the certification.
