Texas short line opens Class I-served facility along Gulf Coast

County Line Rail (CLR) has announced the development of the Gulf Coast Rail Gateway, a 350-acre greenfield industrial rail facility located between Sinton and Odem, Texas.

The site is located within Union Pacific Railroad's Brownsville subdivision along the Gulf Coast industrial corridor and is served by both UP and BNSF Railway, CLR officials said in a press release.

Development ready, the site features an initial capacity of about 500 rail cars. CLR plans to expand that capacity up to 3,000 cars. Rail infrastructure includes a full loop track configuration for train staging, a transload facility, rail-car cleaning area and a locomotive maintenance shop.

The Sinton-Odem location was selected for its proximity to plastics and petrochemical manufacturers, with UP spurs already connecting to several major producers, CLR officials said. The location can also serve as a pre-gateway staging point for freight bound for Mexico through the Laredo and Brownsville gateways, with Eagle Pass routing available through San Antonio, they added.

"The Gulf Coast industrial corridor has needed this for a long time," said CLR Chief Commercial Officer Bryan Boaz. "We are building this facility because the network has a gap — shippers need more flexibility and railroads need a place to stage."

CLR is a privately held short line and industrial rail development company with four operations across the Texas Gulf Coast region. It also operates the County Line Industrial Park in Mont Belvieu, the Sabine River and Northern Railroad in the Golden Triangle, and a rail-served industrial site in Silsbee.