APM Terminals Elizabeth has announced its plans to expand intermodal cargo volumes to and from the Midwest and Canada.
Using a direct-to-rail landing zone section on the terminal during vessel discharge operations, APM Terminals Elizabeth is able to expedite rail cargo to its near dock rail facility 12 hours on average after discharge, according to a statement.
Once cargo arrives at the Millennium Marine Rail-operated terminal, port Labor and APMT teams work on the 18 track rail operation building doublestack trains for fast handoff to three Class I railroads (CSX, NS, CN) that take it to inland markets two to four days away.
Jon Poelma, Managing Director of APM Terminals Elizabeth, stated that rail carriers are benefitting from the strong import and export market as they see their intermodal cargo volumes continue to grow. “Locomotive and railcar availability throughout the pandemic has been steady and reliable,” noted Poelma.
The APMT-operated terminal at the port of New York and New Jersey, which has the largest rail lift capacity of any US East Coast port, also works closely with the port authority to ensure train performance and rail infrastructure is supportive of the growth.
“The coordination between our marine terminal operators, Class 1 railroad partners and Conrail has kept our ExpressRail system fluid and efficient during the record-breaking cargo surge facing ports nationwide, giving us the ability to flex cargo capacity whenever the need arises,” said Sam Ruda, director of the Port of New York and New Jersey.
APM Terminals Elizabeth recently completed a US$200 million infrastructure investment that made the terminal safer for ships, truckers and rail operations, including new ship-to-shore cranes, modernised information technology systems and new truck gates.
