New ‘green’ report for Port of Long Beach on-dock rail

The Port of Long Beach has issued a draft supplemental report detailing the environmental impacts of minor modifications to its Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility project.

The proposed changes include utility relocation, new construction staging areas, rail track adjustments, pavement restriping, and the closure of parts of Grant Street and Southern Pacific Drive. Additionally, the historic Berths D52-D54 transit shed will be reconfigured for Pico Avenue realignment.

The truck-free project, the centerpiece of the port’s rail capital improvement plan, will boost on-dock rail capacity at the second-busiest U.S. container port while reducing emissions. This will expedite deliveries throughout the national supply chain, reduce congestion, and lessen environmental impacts. Phased construction began in 2024 and is expected to finish in 2032. 

The new facility will double the size of the existing Pier B rail yard from 82 acres to 171 acres, and more than triple the annual volume of on-dock rail cargo from 1.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to 4.7 million TEUs. The yard will also feature a fuel depot accommodating up to 30 locomotives, and a staging area to assemble and break down trains up to 10,000 feet long. Pacific Harbor Line handles rail switching at the port, which is served by Class I railroads Union Pacific and BNSF via the Alameda Corridor.