WILMINGTON, Calif. — Pacific Harbor Line, the Anacosta Rail Holdings railroad serving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, has been named as the recipient of the Bob Kleist Leadership Award for 2025 during the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce’s World Trade Week celebration.
The award named for Kleist, a leader in international business advocacy, honors exceptional leadership in the development and promotion of global trade in Southern California, strengthening the region’s role as a trade gateway.
“PHL is honored to be recognized with the Bob Kleist Leadership Award,” said the railroad’s president, Otis L. Cliatt II. “This award celebrates the essential role of rail in international logistics, and we’re proud to serve at the heart of America’s busiest port complex.”
Pacific Harbor Line, formed in 1998 as the successor to the Harbor Belt Line, operates 19 route miles and 96 track miles at the two ports, handling approximately 40,000 carloads annually with 190 employees and a fleet of 25 locomotives.
The award is the latest in a series of honors for the railroad, including multiple national safety awards and recognition by the Federal Railroad Administration for its service and workforce development during the COVID-19 pandemic. PHL has also been nationally recognized for its innovative deployment of clean locomotive technology, including the nation’s first zero-exhaust emission, battery-electric switcher from a major U.S. manufacturer, Progress Rail’s EMD Joule locomotive [see “Pacific Harbor Line displays battery locomotive …,” Trains News Wire, May 7, 2023].
