1. Alameda Corridor CEE 587 March 30, 2011

2. The Problem
Cities originally developed around ports, so our major port cities are also significant urban areas
Ports are on the water
Railroads head inland
Historically rail lines terminated at the historic center of the urban region, leaving a gap between the rail lines and the port.
The connection between rail infrastructure and port infrastructure is often very poor.

3. Solutions
On-dock rail: some ports have extended the rail infrastructure and built rail lines to the port terminals
Intermodal yards: some rail companies have built intermodal yards near port facilities
Drayage: driving containers from the port to the railhead

4. BNSF and UP
Railheads
Ports of LA/LB

5. 34,000 truck trips per day

6. One Solution in LA/LB

7. What is it?
20-mile-long rail line linking the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to the transcontinental rail terminals near downtown Los Angeles
built to provide a better rail access to the San Pedro port cluster
The San Pedro port cluster handle about 70% of the American West Coast containerized traffic

9. Alameda Corridor
a series of bridges, underpasses, overpasses and street improvements that separate rail freight circulation from local road circulation
$2.4 billion dollars
Eliminate 200 at-grade roadway crossings
Railroads pay $15 for each loaded 20 ft equivalent unit (TEU) container, $4 for each empty container, and $8 for other types of loaded railcars, such as tankers and coal carriers.
Hope to encourage a modal shift from truck to rail – reduce congestion

10. Number of Trains Running Through the Alameda Corridor per Year and Containers Handled by the San Pedro Port Cluster,
Source: and American Association of Port Authorities.
Copyright © , Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Dept. of Economics & Geography, Hofstra University. For personal or classroom use ONLY. This material (including graphics) is not public domain and cannot be published, in whole or in part, in ANY form (printed or electronic) and on any media without consent. This includes conference presentations. Permission MUST be requested prior to use. 10

11. Demand was lower than anticipated
The corridor has succeeded in meeting revenue projections not because they caused a modal shift but because port traffic has grown faster than anticipated
No modal shift occurred although the corridor did improve rail service
reliability (2-6 hours to 45 minutes)
travel time

12. Why was demand lower than anticipated?
Locally bound freight flows
They could have anticipated this
Relative transport costs
Trucking industry rationalization
Relocation of the bottleneck
High intermodal costs
Freight distribution centers

13. Lack of understanding of goods movement dynamics
Many importers use distribution and handling facilities in the LA/LB region to rehandle goods before putting them on trains
The assumption was that all goods that left the region on rail could simply be transferred without being handled
If they understood the underlying economic choices they could have better predicted the use of the facility

14. Why are these goods handled?
Inventory management strategies
Transfer from marine containers to domestic containers
Delay destination decisions
Tagging, handling, packaging, etc.
Factory based loading to store based loading

15. San Pedro Bay Port Container Distribution
Source:
Copyright © , Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Dept. of Economics & Geography, Hofstra University. For personal or classroom use ONLY. This material (including graphics) is not public domain and cannot be published, in whole or in part, in ANY form (printed or electronic) and on any media without consent. This includes conference presentations. Permission MUST be requested prior to use. 15