Barstow, CA has long been an important locale on what is now the BNSF Transcon route--the former Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe main line between Southern California and Chicago via Kansas City, MO. In 2026, that importance is growing through the new Barstow International Gateway, known as BIG, that will see the carrier invest $4 billion to construct:
>A new rail yard
>An intermodal yard
>Transload warehouses
This will address the difference between international shipping containers and those used for domestic shipping, by creating a warehouse location where such freight can easily be transloaded. It will also reduce truck traffic at the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach to the tune of 205 million truck miles shifting to rail as soon as 2028.
The project was first announced in 2022, but several years of environmental review precluded California from receiving these benefits earlier, and the project remains the subject of suits by environmental groups including the Sierra Club.
For more on BIG, see the links below:
>BNSF to build $4B rail facility in California (Alejandra Carranza/Supply Chain Drive)
>BNSF wins local approval for new $4B California rail intermodal project (Stuart Chirls/Freightwaves)
>BNSF BIG (BNSF Railway)