Port of Oakland approved an USD 11 million rail spur to Cool Port Oakland. The rail line would connect Union Pacific Railroad tracks with Cool Port, a 280,000-square-foot distribution center now under construction on Port of Oakland’s property. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad would also have rail access.
“The concept is to bring vast quantities of chilled or frozen beef and pork to Oakland via the rails. At Cool Port, the product would be transferred in a temperature-controlled setting from rail cars to shipping containers, then whisked across the street to outbound vessels,” explained Port of Oakland Maritime Director John Driscoll. When the project is completed, an estimated 27,000 20-foot containers of meat could be shipped from Oakland annually to markets in Asia.
International logistics specialists Lineage Logistics and local operator Dreisbach Enterprises are building Cool Port under a lease agreement with the Port. The Port of Oakland has agreed to oversee construction of the 2-mile-long rail spur. The Port will share rail costs with the developers. A USD 5 million grant will offset part of the cost. Union Pacific will construct a portion of the spur on its property. Cool Port Oakland is expected to open in the third quarter of 2018.
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