The Barstow City Council has given its green light to the construction of BNSF’s Barstow International Gateway (BIG), in southern California. “Containers arriving at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will move directly from ships to trains via the Alameda Corridor and onto the BNSF mainline to Barstow”, the company said.
The site will cover 4,500 acres and will feature a rail yard, an intermodal facility and transload warehouses to shift freight from road to rail. Once completed, the BIG will become a key hub for container handling coming from and going to the US’ largest ports. By moving these operations to Barstow, located in the Mojave desert, BNSF says that congestion in port-adjacent areas will be significantly alleviated.
BNSF is very optimistic about the impact of the future terminal. Other than the operational advantages, the company claims that the BIG will create tens of thousands of jobs during the construction phase. Moreover, once it is ready, the company said that it will employ around 5,400 people and generate almost one billion USD in earnings during the first 20 years.
Costs went up and grand opening shifted
On the other hand, the most recent estimations made by BNSF showed that building the terminal will require four billion USD (3,48 billion euros). Four years ago, this number was less than half, around 1,5 billion USD (1,3 billion euros). The timeline for the delivery of the BIG has also shifted. Back then, BNSF wished to start construction in 2025 and open the facility in 2027. However, as it is often the case for projects of this size, the initial plan was too ambitious.
First of its kind
Despite these hiccups, BNSF and the state of California consider the BIG as a massive game changer. “BIG was recently certified by Governor Gavin Newsom under California’s landmark SB 149 legislation, which accelerates critical infrastructure projects”, BNSF said, adding that it is the first transport project to receive the certification.
Moreover, it is the first time that a Class I Railroad (the US largest rail freight operators) develops such a terminal. This was highlighted in the 2024 State Rail Plan, which underlined the BIG’s “ability to dramatically reduce truck trips and improve statewide goods movement efficiency”.