Alameda Corridor#Alameda Corridor East

{{short description|Freight rail line in Los Angeles, California}}

{{Infobox rail line

| name = Alameda Corridor

| box_width =

| other_name =

| color =

| logo = Image:Alameda corridor logo.PNG

| logo_width = 60px

| logo_alt =

| image = Alamedia RR Corridor and downtown LA another shot.jpg

| image_width = 200

| image_alt =

| caption = Aerial view showing Alameda Corridor trench in South Los Angeles

| type = freight terminal railroad

| system =

| status =

| locale = Los Angeles County

| start =

| end =

| routes =

| open = {{Start date and age|2002|04|15}}

| yearcommenced =

| yearcompleted =

| close =

| owner = Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority

| operator = {{Unbulleted list

| BNSF Railroad

| Union Pacific Railroad

| Pacific Harbor Line

}}

| character = Largely grade-separated freight railroad

| depot =

| stock =

| linelength_mi = 20

| tracklength_km =

| tracklength_mi =

| tracklength =

| tracks = 3

| gauge = {{Track gauge|ussg|allk=on}}

| load_gauge =

| minradius =

| electrification =

| speed_mph = 40

| signalling =

| elevation_m =

| elevation_ft =

| elevation =

| website = {{URL|acta.org}}

| map = {{Alameda Corridor}}

| map_name =

| map_state = collapsed

| embedded =

}}

The Alameda Corridor is a {{convert|20|mi|adj=on}} freight rail "expressway"{{cite journal |first1=J. W. |last1=Redden |last2=Selig |first2=E. T. |last3=Zaremsbki |first3=A. M. |date=February 2002 |title=Stiff track modulus considerations |journal=RT&S: Railway Track & Structures |volume=98 |issue=2 |pages=25–30 }} owned by the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority {{Reporting mark|ATAX}} that connects the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach with the transcontinental mainlines of the BNSF Railway and the Union Pacific Railroad that terminate near downtown Los Angeles, California.{{cite news |title=How an obscure Alameda Corridor rail agency avoided public accountability laws for years |first= Rachel |last=Uranga |newspaper=Long Beach Press Telegram |date=October 20, 2016 |access-date=October 21, 2016 |url=http://www.presstelegram.com/government-and-politics/20161020/how-an-obscure-alameda-corridor-rail-agency-avoided-public-accountability-laws-for-years }} Running largely in a trench below Alameda Street, the corridor was considered one of the region's largest transportation projects when it was constructed in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Background

File:Alameda corridor trench.jpg.]]

The railway line along Alameda Street was originally laid out by Los Angeles' foundational Los Angeles & San Pedro Railroad, which opened to traffic in 1869.{{cite news |last1=Rasmussen |first1=Cecilia |title=New Alameda Corridor Has Historic Roots |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-apr-07-me-then7-story.html |access-date=13 July 2024 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=April 7, 2002}} The railroad would go on to be acquired by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1873, becoming their San Pedro Branch.

A 1984 study by the Ports Advisory Committee recommended the San Pedro Branch be upgraded to meet the growing demands of the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. At the time, cargo traveling by rail to or from the ports could be routed along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's Harbor Subdivision or the Southern Pacific's tracks down Alameda Street. The Harbor Subdivision was {{convert|90|mi}} long, traveling out to the west side of Los Angeles, before turning back east towards the ports. Meanwhile, the Southern Pacific route had more than 200 street-level railroad crossings where automobiles had to wait for lengthy freight trains to pass.{{cite journal |last=Cerny |first=L. T. |date=May 2002 |title=Alameda corridor opens to traffic in L.A. |journal=RT&S: Railway Track & Structures |volume=98 |issue=5 |pages=32}} These rail lines were inadequately protected with little more than "wigwag" crossing signals dating from the original construction of the lines. In response, the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority was established in August 1989 to plan for upgrades along the route.{{cite web |title=History |url=https://www.acta.org/about/history/ |publisher=Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority |access-date=13 July 2024}}

By the early 1990s, the Southern Pacific was in a difficult financial position and sold the Alameda Street corridor to the Ports of Long Beach for {{US$|235 million|link=yes}} in December 1994 (${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-CAP|235000000|1994}} }} in {{inflation year|US}} adjusted for inflation).{{cite news |last=Zamichow |first=Nora |date=September 9, 1993 |title=Wilson OKs Use of Eminent Domain to Create Railway Corridor: Transit: Governor urges that condemnation be used only as a last resort in talks with Southern Pacific, which wants $260 million for its route between Downtown and the Harbor area. |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-09-09-me-33103-story.html}}{{cite news |title=Railroads: Line sold |work=Oakland Tribune |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/oakland-tribune-railroads-line-sold/151229998/ |access-date=13 July 2024 |agency=Oakland Tribune |via=Newspapers.com |date=December 30, 1994 |location=Oakland, California |page=C1}} {{free access}} This allowed the ACTA to begin building a freight rail "expressway" from the ports to the major rail yards near Downtown Los Angeles. The centerpiece of the new Alameda Corridor would be the "Mid-Corridor Trench" a below-ground, triple-tracked rail line that is {{convert|10|mi}} long, {{convert|33|ft}} deep, and {{convert|50|ft}} wide,{{cite journal |first=Brian |last=Fortner |date=September 2002 |title=The Train Lane |journal=Civil Engineering |volume=72 |issue=9 |pages=52–61 }} with a track spacing of {{convert|15|ft}}.{{cite news |title=The trials of track inspection |url=https://www.rtands.com/track-maintenance/on-track-maintenance/the-trials-of-track-inspection/ |first=Mischa |last=Wanek-Libman |publication-date=October 2013 |pages=40–45 |work=Railway Track and Structures |issn=0033-9016 |oclc=863432020 |access-date=January 12, 2025}} The trench and the larger Alameda Corridor would allow freight trains to travel {{convert|40|mph}} without concerns about grade-crossing collisions or having to blow their horns as they traveled through neighborhoods. The corridor would be open to both BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad (UP) trains via trackage rights.

The line began operation on April 15, 2002, and reached a peak of 60 train movements per day in October 2006.{{cite web |title=Corridor Statistics |url=https://www.acta.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Train_Counts.pdf |date=March 2023 |access-date=May 19, 2023 |publisher=Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority}} Trains have become much longer since: in 2006, the line carried 19,924 trains carrying 4.9 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers, while in 2021, only 10,928 trains carried the same 4.9 million TEUs. The cost of the line was pegged at $2.1 billion at opening (${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-CAP|2100000000|2002}} }} in {{inflation year|US}} adjusted for inflation).

In 2013, the railroad carried 33% of the freight traveling to and from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.{{Cite web|date=November 23, 2019|title=Is the Alameda Corridor in Trouble?|url=https://www.railwayage.com/intermodal/is-the-alameda-corridor-in-trouble/|access-date=December 12, 2020|website=Railway Age|language=en-US}} Fifteen percent of the nation’s container traffic travels through the corridor according to the Transit Authority.{{Cite news|url=https://lbpost.com/news/longtime-shipping-and-infrastructure-executive-takes-helm-at-alameda-corridor-transportation-authority|title=Longtime shipping and infrastructure executive takes helm at Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority |work=City News Service|via=Long Beach Post|date=April 28, 2020|access-date=April 29, 2020}}

While the Mid-Corridor trench is the spine of the corridor, the Alameda Corridor Transit Authority also maintains more than {{convert|65| miles}} of freight rail track, with 125 turnouts, ten rail bridges, signals at 48 locations, seven grade crossings, and two stormwater pump stations.{{r|AJOT}}

File:Alameda Corridor map.svg

Additional developments

= Alameda Corridor–East =

The Alameda Corridor–East project was established in 1998 by the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments to upgrade over {{convert|70|miles}} of railroad tracks in the area east of Downtown Los Angeles. The project includes 19 grade separations and elimination of 23 grade crossings along UP's Alhambra Subdivision and the Los Angeles Subdivision.{{cite web |url=http://www.theaceproject.org/project_overview.php |title=Alameda Corridor-East Construction Authority Project Overview |access-date=July 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630134013/http://theaceproject.org/project_overview.php |archive-date=June 30, 2017 |url-status=dead }} The crossings, which were previously at grade, tied up traffic on north–south streets for long periods multiple times a day as long freight trains pass en route to and from the UP yards in Vernon and Commerce. As of 2023, over a dozen grade separations have been completed, with several more under construction or in design.{{cite web |url=https://www.theaceproject.org/project-schedule |title=ACE Project Schedule |date=June 4, 2023 |accessdate=June 4, 2023 |publisher=San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments}}

Included as part of the Alameda Corridor–East project is the $336.9 million San Gabriel Trench, which submerged the track between Ramona Street and San Gabriel Boulevard in San Gabriel.{{cite web|newspaper=Pasadena Star News |date=April 10, 2008|title=State OKs funds for San Gabriel crossing |first=Fred |last=Ortega |url=http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_8882819 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210035924/http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_8882819 |archive-date=February 10, 2012}} Construction began in 2012 and was completed in 2017.{{cite web |url=http://www.enr.com/blogs/14-gold-rush/post/38380-16-billion-alameda-corridor-east-construction-project-gets-boost-from-ctc |title=$1.6 billion Alameda Corridor-East Construction Project Gets Boost from CTC |first=Greg |last=Aragon |date=December 11, 2015 |work=Engineering News-Record}}{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2012-feb-06-la-me-artifacts-found-20120206-story.html|title=At a planned train trench, an archaeological treasure trove|date=February 6, 2012|first= Bob |last=Pool| newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=July 24, 2017}}

= Possible electrification =

The Alameda Corridor was built in a way to permit electrification with the use of electric catenary wires, which would increase the environmental benefit by displacing the use of diesel fuel, but the electrification has not happened as of yet.{{As of when|date=February 2025}}{{cite web |last1=Frank |first1=Myra |title=Alameda Corridor Environmental Impact Report |url=http://libraryarchives.metro.net/DPGTL/eirs/alameda_corridor/1993_eir.pdf |website=LA Metro Archives |publisher=Myra L. Franks & Associates, Inc. |access-date=May 24, 2020}} This solution has largely been ignored due to lack of familiarity with electric freight technology in North America, although electric freight trains operate in many other parts of the world. Electrification could reduce air pollution in the region, which has been described as a "Diesel Death Zone"{{by who|date=May 2025}} due to the pollution from trucks on Interstate 710.{{Cite web |last=Yanity |first=Brian |date=July 29, 2018 |title=The Potential of Electric Freight Rail in Southern California |url=http://calelectricrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/BrianYanity-Potential-of-electric-freight-rail-in-SoCal-29July2018.pdf |access-date= |website=Californians for Electric Rail}}{{Cite news |last=Nelson |first=Laura |date=March 1, 2018 |title=710 Freeway is a 'diesel death zone' to neighbors — can vital commerce route be fixed? |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-710-freeway-expansion-20180301-story.html |access-date=December 11, 2020 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}

References

{{Reflist|refs=

{{Cite web|url=https://www.ajot.com/news/railworks-corp-selected-to-inspect-track-in-southern-california|title=RailWorks Corp. selected to inspect track in Southern California|date=August 26, 2019|work=AJOT|publisher=American Journal of Transportation|department= Intermodal News |language=en|access-date=August 27, 2019}}

}}