Dallas to make Panama Canal expansion work for its prosperity

THE expansion of the Panama Canal is expected to bring good times to the city of Dallas - if it can only persuade the railways to deliver extra capacity, reports The Dallas Morning News.

Texans argue that the Panama connection with links from Houston to Dallas will fill the gap when California ports become swamped with Asian cargo as container volume through Los Angeles and Long Beach is expected to quadruple by 2030, not to mention the regional risks of longshore strikes, trucking shortages and rail congestion.

But the trouble with the Texas dream is that the Fort Worth-based Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway is not keen on moving freight on short-haul run from Houston to Dallas route, preferring the old and much longer California-Fort Worth line.

Said BNSF spokesman Pat Hiatte: "The predominant flow of trade into this country really is west to east. There is still capacity in the Los Angeles basin to accommodate more. Down the road, perhaps, there will be additional demand, but the bulk of that will probably be satisfied by other west coast ports."

This attitude blocks Dallas County Commissioner Maurine Dickey's plan of having his city become "the economic hub of North America". He expects the Panama expansion will result in tens of thousands of jobs and a new prosperity to southern Texas, where residents have watched their northern neighbours enjoy greater economic benefits than themselves.

Currently, work on the Dallas Logistic Hub is in the preliminary stages, with work on two distribution centres getting underway. More distribution centres are planned, including some that would cover nearly 70 acres. The development, particularly of rail yards for intermodal containers, has the potential to turn Dallas into an inland depot for central southwest United States.