Pacific Harbor Line marks 20th anniversary

Written by Kyra Senese, Managing Editor
image description
The PHL recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of railroad services in the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles area.
Pacific Harbor Line

The Pacific Harbor Line (PHL) recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of railroad services in the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles area.  

 

Officials said the company recognized the milestone Feb. 27 by hosting an on-site 20th anniversary celebration.

About 70 people attended the event, which included a tour of PHL facilities aboard a special train. Among the guests were executives from both of the ports, leaders from PHL’s top terminal and bulk business partners and the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority, as well as members of management of PHL and owner Anacostia Rail Holdings (ARH).

ARH tapped the Pacific Harbor Line in 1998 to provide railroad switching, track maintenance and dispatching services to the two ports, which consist of the top intermodal gateways in the U.S.

In 2017, Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., handled 4.7 million and 3.9 million inbound TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) respectively, making up more than a third of the nation’s total market share, officials said.

PHL said its mission has always been to provide neutral service to all its partners, which include the two ports, Class 1 railroads BNSF and Union Pacific, nine intermodal terminals and several carload customers.

At the February ceremony, ARH Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Bruce Lieberman emphasized the company’s dedication to fairness.

“These parties need to work together, but they also compete with each other,” Lieberman said. “Over the past two decades, Pacific Harbor Line has consistently fulfilled its mission: safe, effective service, with fairness to all parties.”

ARH President and CEO Peter Gilbertson also noted PHL’s role in bolstering Los Angeles’ and Long Beach’s high-ranking position among U.S. ports.
“PHL has developed an international reputation as the leading port rail operator,” Gilbertson said. “We look forward to working with our employees and stakeholders to continue to improve.”

The PHL has been recognized with many accolades throughout the past 20 the years, the company noted.

In 2009, PHL was recognized as Short Line Railroad of the Year by Railway Age magazine. PHL was also the first railroad in the country to operate a locomotive fleet including entirely low-emissions Tier 3 diesels and it recently demonstrated a 2,000-horsepower road-switcher built to the Environmental Protection Agency’s more stringent Tier 4 federal standards, officials noted.

Tags: