Victorville Might Get Rail Hub

Victorville might get rail hub

Intermodal yard could bring 20,000 high-paying jobs, city predicts

Tatiana Prophet January 18, 2007

VICTORVILLE — Having passed through the Victor Valley for years, it looks like the railroad is coming to stay and build a major hub — and bringing high-paying jobs along with it.
Video: Mayor Terry Caldwell

BNSF Railway Co., one of the nation’s largest public rail companies, announced Wednesday that it is working with Victorville, and Victorville only, to explore a new multimodal facility.

With rail jobs paying an average of $55,000 to $57,000 per year, highquality jobs could be well on their way to the VictorValley.

“It is the most important single piece of economic news since the closure of George Air Force Base (in 1992),” said John Husing, an Inland Empire economist. “It means that you will finally start to have a compelling reason for blue-collar jobs to come up to the HighDesert and cut down the levels of commuting.”

The facility, to be built as part of a 3,500-acre industrial complex, will be at Southern California Logistics Airport, formerly George Air Force Base, which was closed in 1992 to the loss of about 10,000 jobs. For years, the city has been marketing the former base as a potential logistics hub, extending the runway to 15,050 feet and connecting to the BNSF line — in the hopes of replacing the jobs that were lost.

According to the city, the complex and surrounding warehouse operations could generate as many as 20,000 new jobs in the coming years. In and around the intermodal yard, a private developer is planning 20 million square feet of industrial space, roughly three-quarters of a square mile. And the city is so bullish on the idea that it has spent roughly $23.2 million over the last year alone on getting the complex ready.

Rail provides the magic formula that, with air and land, could make Victorville a global commercial hub for goods moving around the country. If BNSF decides to build the complex, it would be used solely for domestic commerce, said Lena Kent, spokeswoman for BNSF. International trade would be routed through a new facility BNSF is planning four miles from the port of Los Angeles, the Southern California International Gateway.

But if the new rail yard in Los Angeles is a gateway to a family estate, the Victorville yard might be the living room. As the San Bernardino domestic yard reaches capacity, BNSF has been searching for the next domestic yard. And it looks like Victorville might be it.

Besides Victorville, the only other domestic intermodal facility being explored by BNSF is in Gardner, Kan.

Though the deal isn’t entirely sealed, the city council unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding Tuesday night to explore “exclusive negotiations.”

“It’s kind of like a courtship, kind of like getting engaged, you can always say no to the marriage vows,” said Mayor Terry Caldwell.

Kent agreed with the comparison, adding that the new facility would be a key component to solving congestion in the L.A. basin.

“Each double-stack intermodal train would take 250 trucks off the highway,” she said. “And we would not say we compete with the trucking industry, we actually are partners with the trucking industry. They bring it to a location, we take it on the long haul and they pick it up at the next destination. We need an intermodal facility where these containers and trailers can be loaded onto rail cars and taken to destinations across the country.”

For years, Bakersfield and Barstow have been said to be vying for the intermodal yard. Reached Wednesday afternoon, Barstow Mayor Lawrence Dale had no comment on the news, neither did a spokeswoman for Bakersfield.