Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority

What Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority does

Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (ACTA) is a Joint Powers Authority formed in August 1989 by the Cities and Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to operate a 20-mile dedicated freight rail corridor connecting the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to downtown Los Angeles rail yards and the transcontinental railroad network. The corridor, which opened in April 2002 after a $2 billion+ buildout, consists of a 10-mile-long, 33-foot-deep mid-corridor trench carrying freight trains, 60 miles of railroad track, 212,000 linear feet of fencing, 32 grade-separated bridges eliminating more than 200 at-grade crossings, and supporting communication, signal, and security systems. ACTA's core activity is operating this infrastructure — providing centralized train dispatching through the Alameda Belt Line, 24/7 maintenance on an $18.5M–$45.7M annual operations budget, integrated security monitoring with cameras and sensors, and annual multi-agency emergency response exercises.

ACTA generates revenue by collecting usage-based Use Fees and transaction-based Container Charges from BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad pursuant to the Alameda Corridor Amended and Restated Use and Operating Agreement, with annual rates adjusted each January 1 based on October CPI (floor of 1.5%, ceiling of 4.5%) and billed monthly on a self-assessed basis reconciled through AEI readers. Disclosed annual revenue is $139.2M, with over 90% of revenue servicing outstanding revenue bond obligations exceeding $2 billion; the Ports provide contractual shortfall advances of up to 40% of annual debt service if revenues are insufficient. The corridor currently handles approximately 32 daily trains carrying up to 16,793 TEUs per day, representing roughly 15% of U.S. container traffic and over 100 million cumulative TEUs since 2002. ACTA is governed by a seven-member board drawn from the two Cities, two Ports, and LA Metro, and is staffed by approximately 10–12 employees who oversee service contracts with the cities, railroads, and contractors.

Name

Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority

Legal name

Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority

Website

https://acta.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (ACTA) is a California Joint Powers Authority that operates a 20-mile dedicated freight rail corridor linking the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to the transcontinental rail network, charging BNSF and Union Pacific Railroad usage-based fees to service $2 billion+ in revenue bonds.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Long Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. User Fees: Use Fees paid by BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad for cargo using the Alameda Corridor. Adjustment provisions allow ACTA to increase rates each January 1, based on October CPI, moderated to be not less than 1.5% and not to exceed 4.5%. Railroads pay monthly based on self-assessment, reconciled using multiple supplemental data sources.
2. Container Charges: Container Charges paid by railroads for loaded containers originating or terminating at the ports' facilities that bypass the corridor to be transported by rail into or out of Southern California. Proceeds are pledged to bondholders to repay ACTA's outstanding debt.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ACTA owns, operates, and maintains the Alameda Corridor, a 20-mile dedicated freight rail corridor with a 10-mile mid-corridor trench connecting the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to transcontinental rail yards in downtown Los Angeles. It provides train dispatching, 24/7 infrastructure maintenance, security, public safety/emergency response, and revenue assessment and collection, charging BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad usage-based Use Fees and Container Charges under the Amended and Restated Use and Operating Agreement. Its primary outputs are corridor throughput (~32 trains and ~16,793 TEUs per day) and proceeds pledged to service over $2 billion of revenue bond obligations.

Product overview

The Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (ACTA) operates a single unified rail corridor infrastructure—the Alameda Corridor—rather than a modular software platform. The core offering is a 20-mile dedicated freight rail corridor connecting the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to downtown Los Angeles rail yards. Supporting services include 24/7 infrastructure maintenance, train dispatching via the Alameda Belt Line, security monitoring with cameras and sensors, emergency response coordination with annual first-responder training, and revenue collection from railroad users. Current infrastructure projects include Signal Modernization replacing legacy signal processors with LED-based systems, and coordination on the Pier B Rail Yard expansion. ACTA is a government joint-powers authority, not a technology product company, and does not offer software products, APIs, or AI-powered features.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Alameda Corridor Rail Corridor Operations A 20-mile dedicated freight rail corridor with a 10-mile mid-corridor trench connecting the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to transcontinental railroad yards in downtown Los Angeles, providing consolidated, high-capacity rail access for Class I railroads.
• Public Safety Services Public safety program along the corridor, including annual emergency response training exercises for first responders, infrastructure monitoring, and emergency operations planning for the rail corridor trench.
• Infrastructure Maintenance 24/7 maintenance of 60 miles of railroad track, 212,000 linear feet of fencing, emergency drop ladders, switches, control points, and communication and signal systems under an annual budget of $18.5 million.
• Train Dispatching Services Centralized train movement coordination from the Alameda Belt Line (ABL) railroad complex, managing approximately 30 daily two-mile-long trains carrying up to 550 containers each at 40 mph.
• Security Monitoring Systems Integrated security infrastructure along the corridor including cameras, sensors, emergency ladders, and real-time communications, supplemented by Railroad Police patrols and an annual hands-on emergency exercise program.
• Revenue Assessment and Collection Collection of usage-based Use Fees and Container Charges from BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad pursuant to the Use and Operating Agreement, reconciled using AEI reader networks and supplemental data sources, with funds primarily pledged to bondholders to repay ACTA's outstanding debt.
• Signal Modernization Program Ongoing infrastructure project replacing obsolete railroad signal control point microprocessors with state-of-the-art processors and replacing low-profile signals with multicolored LED lamps for improved reliability and diagnostics.
• Pier B Rail Yard Support Coordination with the Port of Long Beach on the Pier B Rail Yard project, providing essential support to on-dock rail operations including length-of-train arrival/departure tracks and storage tracks for railcar blocks.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100 million+ TEUs moved since 2002
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Los Angeles County Fire DepartmentminorOthers · 22 March 2026Participating agency in the annual emergency training exercise, along with multiple other fire and emergency services departments from the region.
• Los Angeles Fire DepartmentminorOthers · 22 March 2026Participating agency in the annual emergency training exercise along the 30-foot-deep mid-corridor trench.
• Compton Fire DepartmentminorOthers · 22 March 2026Participating agency in the annual emergency training exercise in Compton, California.
• Long Beach Fire DepartmentminorOthers · 22 March 2026Participating agency in the annual emergency training exercise along the vital train route.
• Montebello Fire DepartmentminorOthers · 22 March 2026Participating agency in the annual emergency training exercise.
• Downey Fire DepartmentminorOthers · 22 March 2026Participating agency in the annual emergency training exercise.
• Santa Fe Springs HazMatminorOthers · 22 March 2026Participating agency specializing in hazardous materials response as part of the emergency training exercise scenarios.
• BNSF RailwaycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 April 2002BNSF Railway is one of the two Class I railroads that pay user fees and container charges to use the Alameda Corridor. They share train dispatching responsibility with Union Pacific from the Alameda Belt Line (ABL) centralized railroad complex.
• Union Pacific RailroadcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 April 2002Union Pacific Railroad is one of the two Class I railroads that pay user fees and container charges to use the Alameda Corridor. They share train dispatching responsibility with BNSF from the Alameda Belt Line (ABL) centralized railroad complex.
• Port of Los AngelescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 1989The Port of Los Angeles is one of the two ports that co-founded ACTA as a joint powers authority. The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, along with the Cities, hold representatives on ACTA's seven-member Governing Board.
• Port of Long BeachcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 1989The Port of Long Beach is one of the two ports that co-founded ACTA as a joint powers authority. The Ports provide shortfall advances up to 40% of annual debt service if revenues are insufficient.
• City of Los AngelescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 1989The City of Los Angeles, along with City of Long Beach, formed ACTA as a joint powers authority. The City holds a representative on the seven-member Governing Board and provides Co-General Counsel through the Deputy City Attorney.
• City of Long BeachcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 1989The City of Long Beach, along with City of Los Angeles, formed ACTA as a joint powers authority. The City holds a representative on the seven-member Governing Board and provides Co-General Counsel through the Deputy City Attorney.
• Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 1989LA Metro holds a representative on ACTA's seven-member Governing Board. The agency is part of the Audit Committee along with representatives from Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• CREATE (Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program): A public-private partnership consolidating freight rail movements in the Chicago region — the same conceptual model as ACTA's consolidated Alameda Corridor. Both serve to relieve urban rail congestion and integrate multiple Class I railroads through a shared infrastructure authority.
• BNSF Railway: One of ACTA's two anchor customers and a Class I freight railroad. Directly comparable as a Class I rail operator that depends on corridor infrastructure to move intermodal containers out of the LA/LB port complex.
• Union Pacific Railroad: ACTA's other anchor customer and a Class I freight railroad. Co-dispatches trains with BNSF via the Alameda Belt Line and is contractually obligated to pay Use Fees and Container Charges for corridor access.
• Alameda Belt Line Railroad: Centralized dispatching complex shared by BNSF and Union Pacific at the eastern end of the Alameda Corridor. Operates as the operational nerve center connecting the corridor to downtown LA rail yards.

Broad incumbents

• Port of Los Angeles: Co-founder of ACTA and the largest U.S. container port. Operates adjacent marine-terminal infrastructure that feeds the Alameda Corridor; comparable as a large public port authority reliant on container throughput for revenue.
• Port of Long Beach: Co-founder of ACTA and the second-largest U.S. container port. Operates complementary on-dock rail infrastructure (Pier B) and provides contractual shortfall support to ACTA's bond obligations.
• Panama Canal Authority (ACP): Operates a critical freight transit corridor financed via toll-like fees from shipping customers. Highly comparable business model to ACTA's fee-for-corridor-use structure, though at much larger geographic and asset scale.

Regional players

• Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro): Holds a seat on ACTA's Governing Board and operates the regional passenger rail network in LA County. Comparable as a large public transportation authority in the same geography with overlapping stakeholder base.

Emerging players

• Norfolk Southern: Class I freight railroad operating in the eastern U.S. Analogous to BNSF/UP as Class I rail counterparties in other consolidated corridor projects; serves as a useful benchmark for Class I railroad economics.
• CSX Transportation: Class I freight railroad serving the eastern U.S. Comparable to BNSF and Union Pacific in operating model and intermodal volume mix; relevant for benchmarking corridor economics and Class I customer behavior.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/alameda-corridor-transportation-authority

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority