Thank you to Robert Leachman, UC Berkeley Industrial Engineering and Operations Research Professor Emeritus, who presented Conception and Development of the Alameda Corridor at the Institute of Transportation Studies Transportation Seminar on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025.
Abstract: The Alameda Corridor is a 25-mile multi-tracked, grade-separated rail line stretching from the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to connections with main-line railroads near downtown Los Angeles. The speaker’s 1984 consulting report for the Southern California Association of Governments proposed the Corridor as the most cost-effective means of mitigating the urban impacts of heavy rail freight movement. Initially, there was considerable opposition to the proposal, but gradually stakeholder support was secured. After eighteen years and an expenditure of 2.4 billion dollars, a ribbon was cut opening the Corridor. In this talk I will highlight the history of how and why the Corridor came about, the innovative analysis justifying the corridor, efforts to gain support for the concept and secure its environmental approval, why rail traffic in the Corridor has not lived up to expectations, and what should be done for the Corridor to fulfill its promise.
Bio: Rob Leachman is a Professor Emeritus of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Leachman is the author of more than 50 technical publications and has supervised more than 30 PhD dissertations concerning production and operations management. He also is President and CEO of Leachman and Associates LLC, a firm providing consulting and software for operations management and logistics analysis to corporations and governments. He received the AB degree in Mathematics and Physics, the MS degree in Operations Research and the PhD degree in Operations Research, all from U. C. Berkeley, and has been a member of the U C Berkeley faculty since 1979. In 1995 Dr. Leachman was the winner of the Franz Edelman Award Competition sponsored by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), recognizing his work to design and implement automated production planning systems in the semiconductor industry. In 2001 Dr. Leachman was the runner-up in the Franz Edelman Award Competition, recognizing his work for automated floor scheduling and cycle time management in the semiconductor industry. The Edelman Award is the highest accolade from INFORMS, given annually recognizing outstanding practice of the management sciences.