 |
Re: NCRA/NWP : The Road to Eureka.
Author: Mitsy
Date: 07-08-2008 - 08:05
Here's my source for container shipments out of Port of Oakland. The reader can decide whether Mike Pechner knows what he's talking about.
Published Thursday, October 11, 2007, by the Bakersfield Californian
Rails could expand
More freight traffic from Oakland pushes need higher
By Stacey Shepard
Californian staff writer
State money may finance part of an $80 million expansion of railroad
capacity over the Tehachapi Pass to move more goods from the Port of
Oakland to consumers in other parts of the country.
The state money would come from Proposition 1B, the $20 billion
transportation bond voters approved last November.
Railroad companies and other proponents say the plan is a wise way
to spend the bond money because it will reduce the number of trucks
on the road, cutting traffic congestion and air pollution, and
creating jobs as imports from Asia continue to grow.
"It's good for the environment and it's good for California
highways," said Lena Kent, a spokeswoman with BNSF railroad.
But some are asking if handouts for railroads -- which only transport
goods destined for out-of-state markets -- was Proposition 1B's
intent.
"Is that what California really voted for?" asked Brent Green,
business and economic development director for the city of Shafter,
which is building an inland port facility to handle the increase
in goods from the Port of Oakland destined for Southern California
markets. "It's not going to provide additional capacity (to move
goods) here in the region. You're just going to have more trains
coming through the valley going to Texas and Chicago."
Except for some passenger service, rail service in California is
used exclusively to move cargo between the ports and markets in the
U.S. interior.
Meanwhile, in-state goods are moved on highways by heavily polluting
diesel trucks.
Green said that if railroads want to take state money for the
project, they should be willing to provide in-state rail service to
move goods. However, the railroads have consistently said in-state
rail service isn't feasible.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad has proposed the expansion of
rail lines through the Tehachapi Pass.
The pass, which includes the Tehachapi Loop, is critical to the
railroad industry because it is one of a few passes through the
Sierra Nevada that allow for moving goods to the rest of the country.
While the track is owned by Union Pacific, 70 percent of the trains
that run on it belong to BNSF.
Because the line is a single-track, it has created a bottleneck,
said BNSF's Kent. And with trade volume at the Port of Oakland
growing, "we won't be able to get everything through there in the
future," she said.
Port of Oakland officials expect the volume of Asian imports destined
for areas in the central and eastern part of the United State to
nearly double in the next 10 years, from 740,000 cargo containers
per year to 1.4 million.
To handle the increase, plans call for double-tracking 15 miles
of the Tehachapi Pass, though the loop would remain single track.
The railroad's plan is supported by the San Joaquin Valley Air
Pollution Control District, which is struggling to meet federal
smog and diesel particulates standards.
Whether the goods are going out of state or staying in California,
"in general, we support projects that would take trucks off our
roads and put them on rail cars," said Seyed Sadredin, the district's
executive director.
Diesel trucks are the largest source of smog-forming emissions in
the valley, and each train can carry the load of 100 trucks while
producing less pollution.
But the city of Shafter's Green wants to see the state focus its
efforts on the in-state goods movement, specifically the possibility
of moving those goods by rail.
The rail line through Tehachapi Pass will ultimately have to be
expanded to keep the nation's flow of goods moving smoothly, Green
said. But before California contributes funds to that project,
Green said state and local leaders must address the possibility of
in-state rail.
"Our concern is that we are just totally dependent on highway
transportation," Green said. "Given our inability to get roads on
line ... we have serious challenges here
Published Thursday, October 11, 2007, by the Bakersfield Californian
Rails could expand
More freight traffic from Oakland pushes need higher
By Stacey Shepard
Californian staff writer
State money may finance part of an $80 million expansion of railroad
capacity over the Tehachapi Pass to move more goods from the Port of
Oakland to consumers in other parts of the country.
The state money would come from Proposition 1B, the $20 billion
transportation bond voters approved last November.
Railroad companies and other proponents say the plan is a wise way
to spend the bond money because it will reduce the number of trucks
on the road, cutting traffic congestion and air pollution, and
creating jobs as imports from Asia continue to grow.
"It's good for the environment and it's good for California
highways," said Lena Kent, a spokeswoman with BNSF railroad.
But some are asking if handouts for railroads -- which only transport
goods destined for out-of-state markets -- was Proposition 1B's
intent.
"Is that what California really voted for?" asked Brent Green,
business and economic development director for the city of Shafter,
which is building an inland port facility to handle the increase
in goods from the Port of Oakland destined for Southern California
markets. "It's not going to provide additional capacity (to move
goods) here in the region. You're just going to have more trains
coming through the valley going to Texas and Chicago."
Except for some passenger service, rail service in California is
used exclusively to move cargo between the ports and markets in the
U.S. interior.
Meanwhile, in-state goods are moved on highways by heavily polluting
diesel trucks.
Green said that if railroads want to take state money for the
project, they should be willing to provide in-state rail service to
move goods. However, the railroads have consistently said in-state
rail service isn't feasible.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad has proposed the expansion of
rail lines through the Tehachapi Pass.
The pass, which includes the Tehachapi Loop, is critical to the
railroad industry because it is one of a few passes through the
Sierra Nevada that allow for moving goods to the rest of the country.
While the track is owned by Union Pacific, 70 percent of the trains
that run on it belong to BNSF.
Because the line is a single-track, it has created a bottleneck,
said BNSF's Kent. And with trade volume at the Port of Oakland
growing, "we won't be able to get everything through there in the
future," she said.
Port of Oakland officials expect the volume of Asian imports destined
for areas in the central and eastern part of the United State to
nearly double in the next 10 years, from 740,000 cargo containers
per year to 1.4 million.
To handle the increase, plans call for double-tracking 15 miles
of the Tehachapi Pass, though the loop would remain single track.
The railroad's plan is supported by the San Joaquin Valley Air
Pollution Control District, which is struggling to meet federal
smog and diesel particulates standards.
Whether the goods are going out of state or staying in California,
"in general, we support projects that would take trucks off our
roads and put them on rail cars," said Seyed Sadredin, the district's
executive director.
Diesel trucks are the largest source of smog-forming emissions in
the valley, and each train can carry the load of 100 trucks while
producing less pollution.
But the city of Shafter's Green wants to see the state focus its
efforts on the in-state goods movement, specifically the possibility
of moving those goods by rail.
The rail line through Tehachapi Pass will ultimately have to be
expanded to keep the nation's flow of goods moving smoothly, Green
said. But before California contributes funds to that project,
Green said state and local leaders must address the possibility of
in-state rail.
"Our concern is that we are just totally dependent on highway
transportation," Green said. "Given our inability to get roads on
line ... we have serious challenges here
