Alameda Belt Line, jointly owned by Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) and BNSF (NYSE: BRK-B), will negotiate for the rights to provide switching services to the Port of Los Angeles-Long Beach, a source told FreightWaves.
The Alameda Belt Line operates no locomotives, but does provide dispatching services on the Alameda Corridor connecting the ports to the national rail network. It had been listed as a potential candidate when the ports issued the Request for Proposals bidding the three-year rail contract in May 2025.
The ports had extended the contract of Pacific Harbor Line, a unit of Anacostia Rail Holdings and the port rail operator since 1998, through December of this year. It handles approximately 40,000 railcars a year excluding intermodal traffic over 19 route miles and 96 track miles, with 190 employees and 25 locomotives.
PHL also pays the ports nearly $129,000 a year for the use of the 35-acre Berth 200 railyard.
A spokesman for the Port of Los Angeles in an email to FreightWaves would not confirm the selection, saying that the process for awarding a contract is still ongoing.
Under the terms of the RFP, ABL will have to reach separate contract agreements with different requirements for each port. It is subject to approval by the Board of Harbor Commissioners.
FreightWaves has reached out to the Port of Long Beach, UP and BNSF.
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Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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