Original news was published on 13 April, 2015

Port Corpus Christi opened Phase I of the Nueces River Rail Yard at a ceremony on April 10, 2015.

The Nueces River Rail Yard project includes a 9,920-foot-long unit train siding capable of storing a full 160-car unit train siding adjacent to the Fulton Corridor Lead track that serves Port Industries. Unit trains are increasingly used for shipment of grain, sand, rock, liquids, and other similar cargo. The new rail interchange, Nueces River Rail Yard, will initially consist of four parallel ladder tracks for a total yard capacity of 15,300 feet and 253 rail cars. This new rail yard will greatly improve efficiency of existing cargo movement at Port Corpus Christi’s multimodal facilities.

French Thompson, BNSF Director of Public-Private Partnerships said, "This is truly an example of a successful Public-Private Partnership and BNSF uses this as a shining example for similar projects across the state of Texas and the country as a whole."

This collaborative effort is a two phase project. Phase I is a US$17.8M construction project utilizing US$10M from a federal TIGER grant. Remaining funds are covered by Union Pacific, Kansas City Southern, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Genesse and Wyoming, and Port Corpus Christi.

Commencement of phase II construction coincides with the opening of phase I and is funded by a US$22M grant from TxDoT and US$6M from Port Corpus Christi. With a scheduled completion by first quarter of 2017, phase II capacity will increase the NRRY to eight, 8000-foot-long unit train sidings and 1,247 rail car storage capacity.

*NEWS SOURCE