BNSF proposes clean trucks for Long Beach-L.A. near-dock rail yard

BNSF proposes clean trucks for Long Beach-L.A. near-dock rail yard Fort Worth, Texas-based Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. Tuesday announced plans to spend more than $75 million to buy nearly 400 cleaner-burning trucks for draying cargo containers from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to a proposed near-dock rail transfer hub.
   The plan is part of the railroad operator's effort to fight community opposition to the building of the yard, set to be located about four miles north of the two ports and abutting numerous residential areas. Local opponents of the so-called Southern California International Gateway project have cited air and noise pollution from the proposed facility as major concerns.
   According to Tuesday's proposal, the new BNSF vehicles would be limited to travel on industrial routes.
   In addition, the railroad proposed giving local residents priority for new jobs at the facility, building a sound wall to reduce vehicle noise, and landscaping the facility to improve air quality and aesthetics.
   BNSF claims that the proposed facility is needed to help accommodate the ever-increasing volume of cargo moving through the two Southern California ports, which combined make up the busiest container port complex in the Western Hemisphere. According to the railroad, rail capacity at the ports is nearly tapped out and cargo not loaded on rail cars near the port must be trucked to the transcontinental rail yards just south of downtown Los Angeles.
   The company estimates at least a million truck trips could be diverted each year from area freeways.
   In addition to public opposition, the rail yard project faces other hurdles, including regulatory approval of a required environmental impact report on the project and approval by the two ports’ governing boards.