Port of Tucson rail facility expansion project is completed

Union Pacific Railroad, the Federal Railroad Administration and Port of Tucson officials last week marked the completion of a $5 million expansion of the port's rail infrastructure and container export facility.

Funded with a $5 million grant funded in 2013 through the federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program, the project covered several infrastructure upgrades including the installation of siding extensions, high-speed power switches and a new main line switch to increase flexible operations at the site, according to a post on UP's Inside Track blog.

Located close to the U.S.-Mexico border, the port helps trade and business in both nations. It offers the region's businesses access to the Asian Pacific seaports through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, as well as private facilities, according to the  blog.

"The Port of Tucson is an impressive facility that is a full service inland port that services multiple steamship lines, warehousing services, transloading, cold storage, bulk and wind and energy components," said Wes Lujan, UP's vice president-public affairs, Western region.

The port is located next to UP's Sunset Corridor main line, which connects Los Angeles to Texas.