Chairman of the Tijuana Development Council, Gabriel Camarena Salinas, recently stated that, “Baja California Railroad’s (BJRR)new concession for the Desert Line in the United States willattract foreign investment andgreatly benefit local companies that transport raw material from the United States to Baja California.”
Camarena Salinas also noted that some companies like Toyota have previosly mentioned to need rail transportation for their operation. Rail is both the most efficient and the most economical for the movement of large freight volumes.
“The Tijuana area needs more efficient and economical transportation options. Along with Toyota, there are many other companies in the region that will benefit once they are able to ship by rail. When the present rehabilitation of the Desert Line is complete, companies will be able to take advantage of rail connections from the east side of the country to northern crossings of the border. This is because a second connection to the BJRR will be added (this one with the Union Pacific, the largest Class 1 railroad in the United States)”, he said.
Camarena Salinas highlighted that the work the BJRR is doing on the Desert Line aligns with the Ten Fundaments of the Development Council (CDT). The new UP connection will complement the one that arleady exists with the Port of San Diego, but which Camarena Salinas believes may have been previously limiting to companies that required additional options.
Camarena Salinas also said that additional rehabilitation work of the Tijuana-Tecate Short Line would be done with the public’s safety in mind. Ongoing works includes the installation of protective fencing and visible caution signs for drivers and pedestrians to ensure that crossing the tracks can be done without harm.
Finally, the Chairman added that the BJRR intends to complete the project in 2018. This includes rehabilitation of 70 miles of the Desert Line in the United States, rehabiliation of approximately 40 miles of the Tijuana-Tecate Short Line in Mexico, and improvements to the Tecate border-crossing with the United States.
