Rail installation begins at GT OmniPort

GT Logistics, LLC, has begun installation of rail lines at its Port Arthur, Texas-located OmniPort. The OmniPort is expected to open for business in January 2012, serving as a multi-modal terminal for crude oil and other products transported via rail, ship, barge and truck. The $95 million, 1,100 acre facility neighbors refineries with more than one million barrels per day of capacity, multiple chemical and processing plants and is located less than one mile from more than four million barrels of petroleum product storage capacity and pipelines currently serving the region. "As the developer and operator of the entire scope of infrastructure, GT Logistics will be uniquely positioned to provide customers with increased transportation options", said Steven Birdwell, chairman of GTL. "Customer service will be a key component of our success; instead of product sitting for days at remote locations, we'll be able to transport to the industry in the region in a matter of hours. It's unprecedented one-stop logistics." The rail terminal, served by Union Pacific, will be able to receive unit train traffic, with 300 acres of rail car storage on site capable, upon completion, of storing, switching and transloading more than 1,000 rail cars. The rail terminal site also features a multi-barge receiving dock on Taylor's Bayou; convenient access to Highway 73 and Interstate 10 and connectivity to the extensive network of pipelines serving the region. GTL also owns and operates a 20-acre deepwater dock and receiving facility on the Sabine Neches Navigation District Channel with more than 900 feet of steel bulkhead improvements and 1,700 feet of waterfront access to the 42-foot-deep Channel. The deepwater dock is 2.2 miles from the new industrial rail park and terminal and is connected by a key UP rail line and highway. Pipeline connectivity between the sites is being designed. Together, the two sites will be known as the GT Omniport and will be the first multi-user facility of its kind in the Golden Triangle region. Construction of the initial phase of the rail, drainage and road improvements began earlier in the year and will be completed by the end of 2011. Once complete, the industrial rail park and related tenant improvements are expected to create 1,000 jobs and $100 million in new capital investment over the next 10 years.