A possible alternative site for a controversial BNSF Railway project would not allow rails long enough to accommodate goods flow, among other defects, officials told Long Beach Harbor commissioners.
Harbor Commissioner Rich Dines placed an agenda item Monday discussing the use of Pier S, an abandoned oil field at the northeast side of Terminal Island, as a substitute spot for a new rail yard that BNSF officials say will allow trucks to load containers and put them on trains closer to the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles instead of having trucks travel 24 miles away to the BNSF Hobart Yard in Commerce.
A BNSF official told commissioners that Pier S could only allow tracks up to 4,000 feet – half or less the typical container train length of 8,000 to 10,000 feet.