Everything's bigger in Texas, including BNSF's newest logistics center
10/8/2025
By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor
BNSF Railway marked a couple of milestones with its logistics center program last month.
The Class I opened its sixth logistics center — and largest one so far — in September. The new center is located in Cleveland, Texas, north of Houston.
The railroad’s five other logistics centers are situated in Sweetwater and Gunter (north Dallas), Texas; Fontana, California; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Hudson, Colorado.
Several weeks ago, BNSF moved one of the first trains into Logistics Center North Houston, which also is accessible by trucks from Interstate 69 and State Highway 105. BNSF RailwayThe centers offer direct rail service in multi-customer, multi-commodity business parks. Numerous industrial sites are available at the complexes, which target underserved and primarily end-user markets.
The logistics centers can help shave nine months or more off the time needed to develop a site by providing fully permitted, shovel-ready properties with rail infrastructure already in place, BNSF officials say. Facilities constructed on the sites can be served by both manifest mixed freight and unit trains, helping customers reach new markets.
“BNSF Logistics Centers are uniquely positioned in growing markets where access to rail is limited. They serve as industrial parks, offering versatile capabilities to accommodate a wide range of customers and commodities,” said BNSF spokesperson Kendall Sloan in an email.
The newly opened Logistics Center North Houston at Cleveland is a 1200-acre complex offering a number of shovel-ready, permitted sites and featuring mainline turnouts, industry track and inner roads. The center is near Interstate 69 and State Highway 105.
Logistics Center North Houston supplants Logistics Center Hudson in Colorado — which spans about 420 acres — as the largest one in BNSF’s network, said Sloan.
The Texas facility is the sixth logistics center in BNSF’s network and the railroad’s largest logistics center. BNSF RailwayLocation, accessibility and serviceability are key factors in determining ideal locations for logistics centers, and the railroad works closely with agencies, municipalities and companies to identify the best locations near existing BNSF infrastructure, she said.
“Cleveland stood out as an attractive location due to these reasons and the proximity to the greater Houston region,” said Sloan. “The greater Houston market continues to be a robust economic engine with great economic potential for growth in the region for many decades to come.”
BNSF began to develop Logistics Center North Houston in 2018 after acquiring the 1,200 acres in Cleveland. Construction started in 2021 — mass grading the site took about a year — and additional development activities kicked off in 2022.
The Class I so far has secured two leases at Logistics Center North Houston that encompass 110 acres. Arrow Reload Systems Inc., an anchor tenant, is a multi-commodity transloader that became operational in July, said Sloan.
Based in Kamloops, British Columbia, Arrow Reload operates more than 20 facilities in Canada and the United States and specializes in commodity hauling, facilities/logistics management, marine, manufacturing, product distribution and technology development services.
“Arrow Reload is located on 20 acres within the center and has 20 rail-car spots to handle building and construction materials, including everything from dry bulk, steel, panel and lumber,” said Sloan.
There is room at the center for several more interested tenants. But BNSF doesn’t have a set number of tenants defined for Logistics Center North Houston, Sloan stressed.
“Rather, we are open and customizable to opportunities that are based off of scope, opportunity and acreage needs,” she said.
Looking ahead, there is a possibility that BNSF might develop other logistics centers in its network. However, there are no concrete plans at the moment for a seventh center.
“BNSF follows a strategic site selection process that incorporates market drivers, customer feedback, site deficient markets, housing starts, population growth and other factors. We will continue to find opportunities to grow our footprint and will continually evaluate properties to meet market needs,” said Sloan.
Since late last year, BNSF has been trying to develop Logistics Park Phoenix, a $3.2 billion, 4,320-acre facility that would feature a logistics center plus an intermodal terminal and logistics park in northwest Maricopa County, Arizona, near Phoenix.
But the city of Surprise, Arizona, recently denied a rezoning request that would have enabled the Class I to construct the complex in nearby Wittman.
