CSX tells Jaxport on-dock rail would undercut Savannah

Time:2010-10-29 Browse:39 Author:RISINGSUN

US south eastern railway, CSX Corporation, is telling Jacksonville Port Authority (Jaxport) to build on-dock so containers can move swiftly to and from trains to undercut the attraction rival Savannah port has for Asian cargo.

CSX vice president Fredrik Eliasson said an intermodal container transfer facility would leverage the existing and planned Asian terminals at Dames Point, reports the Jacksonville Business Journal.


Jacksonville-based CSX said it plans to spend up to US$40 million to redirect its rail line away from downtown Jacksonville and to an intermodal container facility at or near the Dames Point Marine Terminal.


The facility would serve TraPac Inc`s terminal and Hanjin`s planned $300 million terminal, which is expected to open in early 2014, the report said.


According to Mr Eliasson, port authorities have been "sitting" on the issue of building an intermodal container facility for two years. Such a facility, he said, is needed to enable Jacksonville to gain additional business from Savannah, said port authority chairman David Kulik.


He noted that the ports of Norfolk, Virginia; Savannah, Georgia; and New York-New Jersey have intermodal container facilities. Charleston in South Carolina has an intermodal container facility planned.


Mr Eliasson said allowing two railways to have access to the intermodal facility wasn`t crucial since the competition for greater cargo volumes is more between ports than CSX and its big rival Norfolk Southern.


The report added that a study commissioned by the North Florida Planning Organisation will address when and where an intermodal facility ought to be built.