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Source: MSNBC

The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday approved a controversial rail yard near the Port of Los Angeles, setting the stage for possible court challenges, alleging violations of environmental and civil rights laws.
The proposal to build a staging center for trains hauling freight from the largest harbor complex in the nation has raised questions about environmental justice, particularly for nearby minority and working-class neighborhoods of west Long Beach, which could be affected by the project.
Council members approved the Southern California International Gateway and certified its environmental analysis, saying the $500-million project would boost efficiency in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, create jobs, and provide mitigation measures to improve air quality in surrounding communities.
More at the Los Angeles Times

A possible alternative site for a controversial BNSF Railway project would not allow rails long enough to accommodate goods flow, among other defects, officials told Long Beach Harbor commissioners.
Harbor Commissioner Rich Dines placed an agenda item Monday discussing the use of Pier S, an abandoned oil field at the northeast side of Terminal Island, as a substitute spot for a new rail yard that BNSF officials say will allow trucks to load containers and put them on trains closer to the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles instead of having trucks travel 24 miles away to the BNSF Hobart Yard in Commerce.
A BNSF official told commissioners that Pier S could only allow tracks up to 4,000 feet – half or less the typical container train length of 8,000 to 10,000 feet.
More at the Press Telegram

Source: The Tennessean