BNSF’s $4 Billion Inland Bet: How a Desert Rail Hub Could Reshape Cargo Flow from Los Angeles

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BARSTOW, Calif. — The Barstow city council has approved BNSF Railway‘s proposed Barstow International Gateway, a $4 billion intermodal hub in the California high desert that the Fort Worth railroad says will fundamentally alter how freight moves out of the nation’s busiest port complex.

The decision clears a critical local hurdle for a project that has divided residents, regulators, and logistics professionals since its inception, and sets the stage for a broader environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act.

The Barstow International Gateway, or BIG, would cover 4,500 acres on the western edge of Barstow and create capacity for 60 trains. The site sits along the southern transcontinental rail corridor connecting the San Pedro Bay Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to the national freight network.

BNSF describes the investment as a private undertaking with a price tag ranging from $1.5 billion to $4 billion depending on build-out phase. The company says the hub will reduce truck traffic in the Los Angeles Basin and the Inland Empire, improve port-to-rail fluidity, and generate approximately 20,000 direct and indirect jobs.

BNSF President and Chief Executive Katie Farmer called the project transformative. “By creating a more resilient, efficient, and low-carbon freight system, we’re giving shippers faster, more reliable inland access and greater network fluidity,” Farmer said.

The project is designed to eliminate approximately 205 million truck miles traveled by 2028, rising to 312 million by 2048, according to BNSF projections. The company plans to operate zero-emission rail-mounted gantry cranes, hybrid rubber-tired gantry cranes, zero-emission forklifts, and electric plug-ins for refrigerated units.

BIG’s approval comes as federal regulators evaluate the proposed $85 billion merger of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, a deal that would create the first all-freight transcontinental railroad in the United States. Union Pacific has pitched truck-competitive transit times for containers moving between the coasts, a development that significantly raises the competitive stakes for all Class I carriers.

For shippers, forwarders, and port terminals reliant on the San Pedro Bay gateway, the competitive dynamics between the two largest western railroads carry direct implications for service levels, pricing, and capacity planning.

BNSF Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Tom Williams said the gateway was designed with customers in mind. “By streamlining the handoff from the San Pedro Bay Ports to our national network, we’re improving transit times, increasing capacity, and enhancing service reliability across long-haul corridors,” Williams said.

The road to approval was not straightforward. Opponents raised concerns about local air quality, infrastructure strain, and the scale of the proposed operation. A significant obstacle materialized when the California Air Resources Board proposed an in-use locomotive rule that BNSF and city officials warned could threaten the project by requiring zero-emission locomotive technology that is not yet commercially available. CARB withdrew that regulatory application with the federal Environmental Protection Agency in January 2025, removing one of the most immediate threats.

Full California Environmental Quality Act review remains pending, meaning the project faces additional scrutiny before construction can begin.

Some rail analysts have also raised structural questions about BIG’s transloading business model, arguing it may be difficult to sustain without a consistent westbound flow of empty domestic containers and that added handling steps could increase repositioning costs for carriers.

BNSF has committed to replacing Barstow’s existing diesel switcher locomotives with the cleanest available technology as part of its voluntary local commitments.

The project’s ultimate scale, timeline, and operational model will depend on the outcome of the environmental review process and ongoing developments in the wider U.S. rail market, including the outcome of the Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern merger proceeding.