Georgia Ports Authority betting big on rail

Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor
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Georgia Ports Authority

Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) Executive Director Griff Lynch detailed a new strategic rail initiative, GPA's Mid-American Arc, and said bigger ships, deeper water and expanded rail are converging to make GPA a powerhouse across the Southeast and Midwest during the annual Savannah State of the Port address.

GPA‘s Mid-American Arc will focus on the growth of intermodal rail, extending the Port of Savannah’s reach to capture new markets across the Southeast and Midwestern U.S.

“This enhancement of our rail capacity is a game-changer in the market to serve cities ranging in an arc from Atlanta to Memphis, St. Louis, Chicago and the Ohio Valley,” Lynch said. “Additional track will allow us to build unit trains, 10,000 feet long, completely on terminal, while reducing rail crossings and impact on the local community.”

Included in the plan is a $128 million project that will link Garden City Terminal’s two rail yards, improve efficiency and grow the terminal’s rail lift capacity to approximately 1 million containers each year. Construction of the rail expansion, forming the Port of Savannah International Multi-modal Connector, will take four years and is being funded in part by a $44 million grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies program.

The Port of Savannah’s Garden City Terminal is the Southeast’s busiest intermodal gateway handling 3.73 million twenty-foot equivalent container units in 2015. Currently, 18 percent of the containers handled at Garden City Terminal move on Class 1 railroads Norfolk Southern and CSX. GPA officials said the connector project is poised to help the Port of Savannah to capture greater market share. Not only will the rail infrastructure improvements allow for 10,000-foot unit trains, but also improve efficiency to grow terminal rail lift capacity by approximately 1 million containers per year.

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