Government funding is helping a port in the United States expand its rail capacity.
The Port of Virginia is using the US$20m federal grant to part-fund its US$44m project to double the size of the on-dock rail yard at Norfolk International Terminals (NIT).
“The amount of cargo we move by rail, mainly to the Midwest, is growing and is important to the users of this port and our overall success, so it must keep pace with the other improvements we’re making at NIT,” said John F. Reinhart, chief executive and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority.
“We have created additional capacity at the truck gate, new cranes will give us more capacity at the berth, and this investment will increase our rail capabilities,” he added.
The bulk of the work will focus on construction of 10,700 feet of new track inside the terminal - two bundles of four tracks each. Within the next decade, the port will need the capacity to process an additional 200,000 containers for export. At present, 34% of the port’s total volume moves via rail with the port aiming to increase that figure to 40%.
This project is part of a US$450m capacity expansion project at NIT which will increase the terminal’s annual throughput by 400,000 containers through a reconfigured container stacking area, greater use of technology and new cargo handling equipment that includes two ship-to-shore container cranes set to go into service in early 2021.
