Port of Oakland OKs $11 Million Rail Link to New Cool Port Project

The Port of Oakland approved an $11 million rail link for the new Cool Port project, a part of a strategy to attract Midwest beef and pork for export to Asia, and the final piece of an ambitious plan to make Oakland a vital link in the food chain.

The project would connect Union Pacific Railroad tracks with Cool Port, a 280,000-square-foot distribution center now under construction on 25 acres of Port property. When the project is completed, an estimated 27,000 20-foot containers of meat could ship from Oakland annually. The final destination: export markets in Asia.  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,” explained Port of Oakland Maritime Director John Driscoll.  “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.”