Construction has been approved on 1.4 miles of rail track that will improve the Port of Portland Oregon's connection between the Terminal 6 (T-6) intermodal yard and both the Union Pacific and BNSF mainline tracks and help increase intermodal container volumes through T-6. The third rail lead will improve the port's ability to expedite the arrival and departure of unit trains at T-6.

Unit trains are up to one mile long and carry only one type of cargo ' at T-6 that would be all autos, or all containers. The third rail lead is crucial to T-6's ability to serve as a gateway for containerized cargo from Asia. The additional rail track will allow unit container trains to bypass the switching operations that take place on the existing rail lines at T-6. The new track will also provide equal access to the terminal for both BNSF Railways and the Union Pacific Railroad and support continued growth of the Port's auto importers.