Ground broken for PANYNJ, GCT USA ExpressRail Port Jersey facility

Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor
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A rendering of the Greenville Yard.
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

A new intermodal facility that will connect the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) GCT Bayonne terminal to CSX and Norfolk Southern broke ground on Dec. 19.

GCT USA and PANYNJ said the ExpressRail Port Jersey facility (“Greenville Yard”) will be a major ship-to-rail port project located directly adjacent to the recently expanded, state-of-the-art GCT Bayonne container terminal. This project will complete the agency’s more than $600 million initiative that establishes direct access to on-dock or near-dock rail service for all of its major marine terminals.

GCT USA said the near dock Greenville Rail Yard will play a key part in GCT Bayonne’s operations and, once completed, will have a capacity of 250,000 lifts and eight working tracks.

The intermodal facility is scheduled to be complete in mid-2018 and will feature 9,600 feet of track serviced by high-efficiency, electric cantilevered rail-mounted gantry cranes featuring LED lighting. PANYNJ and GCT USA estimate that the impact of the facility will include the elimination of 375,000 trucks per year and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 18,300 tons annually.

Construction costs for the GCT Bayonne near-dock intermodal facility are supported by a $56 million investment from PANYNJ. The Cargo Facility Charge, a per-container fee assessed on cargo shipped through PANYNJ to cover the costs of critical road, rail and security infrastructure projects is funding the project.

PANYNJ recently approved its 2017 capital and operating budget, which includes $153 million for port development projects. More than $36 million of the 2017 capital budget is flagged for the Greenville Yard project.

“As the port business continues to grow with the arrival of new, lower emissions, larger ships, it’s critical that we invest in projects to deal with the increase in cargo in a sustainable way, maintaining our quality of life,” said PANYNJ Executive Director Pat Foye. “This project will not only expedite the movement of cargo through the region, but will take hundreds of thousands of truck trips off the road annually, providing a significant environmental benefit to the region.”

“Building on our proven experience as a world-class developer of marine and rail facilities, this partnership with the Port Authority will ensure that the most advanced terminal on the East Coast is complemented with an effective and efficient rail facility, increasing our big ship surge capacity and decreasing overall cargo dwell times,” said John Atkins, president of GCT USA.

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