Rail Freight Carriers in

California

A freight train of the Sierra Northern Railway passes along Beach Street, Santa Cruz.
The locomotive is an EMD GP20 2000hp (1500kW) Bo-Bo diesel electric.

Long Haul Railways

BNSF, Union Pacific

International Railways

• Union Pacific crosses the Mexican border at Calexico, interchanging with Ferromex at Mexicali
• Baja California Railroad crosses the Mexican border between San Ysidro and Tijuana

Regional & Local Railways

• Advanced Rail Energy Storage is a system of energy storage using weighted powered vehicles moving up and down an inclined railway. A prototype version near Tehachapi has a 245 yard (268 m) track with a gradient of 1 in 11 (9%). A much larger commercial operation is planned near Pahrump, NV. No connection or interchange with any other railway
• Arizona & California Railroad Cadiz (interchange with BNSF) to Matthie AZ (interchange with BNSF, and trackage rights over BNSF from Phoenix, where there is interchange with Union Pacific); total length of line about 205 miles (330 km)
• Baja California Railroad San Ysidro (interchange with San Diego & Imperial Valley Railroad) via Tijuana to Tecate (Mexico), about 44 miles (71 km); proposed extension from Tecate along former railroad, recrossing the Mexican border and continuing to El Centro (interchange with Union Pacific), a further 70 miles (113 km)
• California Northern Railroad three separate sections:
  • Davis (interchange with Union Pacific) via Willows (local branch) and Wyo (branch to Hamilton) to Tehama (interchange with Union Pacific)
  • Suisun Fairfield (interchange with Union Pacific) via Napa Junction (interchange with SMART and branch to Rocktram, where there is interchange with Napa Valley Railroad) to Vallejo (interchange with Mare Island Rail Service)
  • Tracy (interchange with Union Pacific) to Los Banos
  The first two sections are connected by trackage rights over Union Pacific between Davis and Suisun Fairfield. Total length of line about 255 miles (410 km)
• Central California Traction two groups of lines:
  • Central Valley Branch from Stockton via Lodi to Franklin, about 14 miles (22.5 km)
  • Stockton Public Belt Railway has around 55 miles (88 km) of switching lines in the Port of Stockton
  Both lines interchange with BNSF, Union Pacific and Stockton Terminal & Eastern Railroad in Stockton.
• Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad Black Butte (interchange with Union Pacific) via Hilt to destinations in OR; total length of line about 362 miles (583 km)
• Goose Lake Railway Perez (interchange with Union Pacific) via Alturas (branch to MacArthur) to Lakeview OR; total length of line about 115 miles (185 km) (Website had no content when last checked)
• JBC Rail Services switching services and railcar storage at McClellan, interchanging with Union Pacific and BNSF and at Oxnard, interchanging with Union Pacific
• Mare Island Rail Service switching railway in Vallejo, interchanging with California Northern; total length of line about 2½ miles (4 km) (No website located at present)
• Merced County Central Valley Railroad switching railway in Atwater, interchanging with BNSF.
• Modesto & Empire Traction Modesto (interchange with Union Pacific) via the Beard Industrial District to Empire Junction (interchange with BNSF), about 5 miles (8 km), with a further 38 miles (61 km) of switching lines within the industrial district.
• Mountain Pacific Railroad switching railway in Moss Landing, interchanging with Union Pacific; length of line a little over 1 mile (2 km) (No website located at present)
• Oakland Global Rail Enterprise switching railway in the port and industrial area of Oakland, interchanging with BNSF and Union Pacific. Total length of line about 18 miles (28 km)
• Pacific Harbor Line extensive switching railroad in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Interchanges with BNSF and Union Pacific
• Quincy Railroad Quincy Junction (interchange with Union Pacific) to sawmills near Quincy; about 3 miles (5 km). Owned by Sierra Pacific Industries (Website contains no information relating to railway)
• Richmond Pacific Railroad switching railroad in the port of Richmond, interchanging with BNSF and Union Pacific; total length of line about 2½ miles (4 km)
• Sacramento Southern Railroad Old Sacramento (interchange with Union Pacific) to Freeport, 3 miles (5 km). Possible future extensions on line of original Sacramento Southern, which ran as far as Walnut Grove (24 miles, 39 km) (No website located at present for freight services, but see tourist train website)
• Sacramento Valley Railroad switching railroad in McClellan Business Park, near Sacramento. Interchanges with BNSF and Union Pacific. Total length of line about 7 miles (11 km)
• St Paul & Pacific Railroad Pajaro (Watsonville Junction, interchange with Union Pacific) via Santa Cruz (interchange with Santa Cruz Big Trees & Pacific) to Davenport, about 31 miles (50 km)
• San Diego & Imperial Valley Railroad San Diego (interchange with BNSF and branch to El Cajon) to San Ysidro (interchange with Baja California Railroad). Most of the tracks are shared with light rail transit operator San Diego Trolley. Total length of line about 10 miles (16 km)
• San Francisco Bay Railway switching railway in the Port of San Francisco, interchanging with Union Pacific. Total length of line about 3 miles (5 km) (Site contains only minimal information relating to railway)
• San Joaquin Valley Railroad a complex of lines in the San Joaquin and Bakersfield areas:
  • Hammond (interchange with BNSF) to Hammer Field
  • Fresno (interchange with Union Pacific) via Ingle (branch to Burrell) to Oxalis
  • Fresno (interchange with Union Pacific) to Exeter
  • Exeter via Lucca to Strathmore
  • Exeter via Billy Goat Junction (branch to Loma) and South Goshen (interchange with Union Pacific) to Huron
  • Famoso (interchange with Union Pacific) to Hollis
  • Oil Junction (interchange with Union Pacific) to Maltha
  • Oil Junction (interchange with Union Pacific) to Landco (interchange with BNSF)
  • Bakersfield (interchange with Union Pacific and BNSF) via Gosford (branch to Levee) to Buttonwillow
  • Magunden (interchange with Union Pacific) to Arvin
  The various sections of the San Joaquin Valley Railroad are linked by trackage rights over Union Pacific between Fresno and Magunden. Total length of line about 371 miles (597 km)
• Santa Cruz Big Trees & Pacific Railway Santa Cruz (interchange with St Paul & Pacific) to Olympia; about 9 miles (14 km). Freight operations believed inactive at present but parts of the line are used for tourist passenger trains by Roaring Camp Railroads (No website located at present for freight operation)
• Santa Maria Valley Railroad Guadalupe (interchange with Union Pacific) via Betteravia Junction (branch to Betteravia) and Santa Maria (branches to local indusries) to Airport Industrial Park. Total length of line about 15 miles (24 km)
• Sierra Northern Railway several separate operations:
  • Riverbank, near Modesto (switching services in Riverbank Industrial Complex and interchange with BNSF) via Oakdale (interchange with Union Pacific for local services; Union Pacific has trackage rights over Sierra Northern from Riverbank) to Junction Shopping Center, about 103 miles (166 km).
  • Montalvo (interchange with Union Pacific) to Piru, about 30 miles (48 km)
  • Switching services at the Concord Naval Weapons Station and the Port Chicago Naval Ammunition Depot, interchanging with BNSF and Union Pacific at Port Chicago.
  • Tourist services in various locations
• SMART Napa Junction (interchange with California Northern) Via Schellville and Novato to Cloverdale, about 88 miles (141 km) (When last checked, site contained no details of freight operation)
• Stockton Terminal & Eastern Railroad Stockton (interchange with BNSF, California Central Traction and Union Pacific) to Linden, about 25 miles (40 km)
• Trona Railway Searles (interchange with Union Pacific) to Trona, about 30½ miles (49 km). Owned by Searles Valley Minerals (Website contains little information relating to the railway)
• USG owns and operates a 20 mile (32 km) narrow gauge (3 ft, 914 mm) line from its gypsum quarries in the Fish Creek Mountains of Imperial County to its plasterboard works in Plaster City (Website contains no information relating to railway)
• Ventura County Railroad switching railroad in Oxnard, interchanging with Union Pacific. Total length of line about 13 miles (21 km)
• Watco Rail Services switching services at the following locations:
  • Ventura Foods, Ontario, interchanging with Union Pacific
  • USG, Plaster City, interchanging with Union Pacific
• West Isle Line Stoil (interchange with BNSF) to Alpaugh, about 5¼ miles (8.5 km)

Military and Government Railways

Websites do not in general contain details of railway facilities

• US Army
  • serving the Military Ocean Terminal Concord from Port Chicago (junctions with BNSF and Union Pacific) (No website located at present)
  • serving Sierra Army Depot from Herlong (junction with Union Pacific)
• US Government serving the Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base from Edwards (junction with BNSF)
• US Navy serving Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station from Westminster (junction with Union Pacific)