Port of LA receives $21 million grant for rail yard expansion project

A $21.6 million grant from California's Trade Corridor Enhancement Program (TCEP) will help advance a major on-dock rail yard expansion at the Port of Los Angeles, port officials announced yesterday.

The $34 million Terminal Island Rail Yard Enhancement Project is designed to reduce truck trips, tailpipe emissions and congestion on local streets and freeways, thereby improving safety, Port of LA officials said in a press release.

The state grant will fund a significant portion of the project, while the port will fund the remaining cost of $12.4 million.

“Expanding this rail yard creates a ripple effect of intermodal efficiencies within the Port of Los Angeles and throughout the entire San Pedro Bay port complex,” said Port of LA Executive Director Gene Seroka.  “It is a key element of regional and state transportation plans to improve safety and traffic conditions along some of our nation’s most crowded commuter and freight corridors.”

The project calls for expanding an existing intermodal rail storage yard on Terminal Island. More than 31,000 linear feet of track will be added to expand the number of storage tracks from six to 11. The project will increase capacity and use of the Pier 400 on-dock rail yard by up to 525,000 20-foot-equivalent units annually, which represents about a 10 percent overall increase in the port’s capacity.