ABSTRACT
Existing sea-based ports are typically surrounded by major metropolitan areas, requiring movement of shipping containers through those areas, which places unwelcome strain on the existing infrastructure. While a number of the nation’s ports—New York, New Orleans, Oakland, Houston, and so forth—experience this container movement problem, the paradigm example is supplied by the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach (hereby referred to as the “Port”), the nation’s largest and most important port. Almost one-half of the nation’s port-related traffic passes through the Los Angeles metropolitan area on its way into the interior, as shown in figure 9.1. Container growth at the ports of LA/LB. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780429123528/61e564e6-88ae-4448-b64e-05ec54117cd2/content/fig9_1.tif"/>
The Alameda rail corridor was developed to help accommodate the unprecedented growth of container traffic generated by the Port’s intensifying customer base. However, this project’s anticipated capacity has not been fully realized due to constraints on train building and rail throughput at the corridor terminus and the unplanned transition to transshipping approaches. The impact of freight movement on the Los Angeles community has not significantly been reduced. A number of terminals at the Port must truck containers to the terminus of the Alameda Corridor, 4 and 20 miles from the Port, imposing significant congestion and concomitant diesel pollution to the surrounding community. Costly proposals to expand the area’s existing highways in conjunction with a growing recognition of the dangers of diesel particulate 136emission (DPE) have prompted a novel approach to the container movement challenge. This approach utilizes a proven Maglev conveyor-belt technology that shows promise for both short-haul urban freight movement and interstate-bound containers. The application of this technology to container freight movement inside the Port and beyond its confines will reduce both highway congestion and pollution throughout the Los Angeles area.
