Port of Miami puts rail project on fast track

THE Port of Miami has announced a US$46.9 million plan to increase rapid rail cargo to take advantage of the Panama Canal expansion in 2014 as many US east and gulf ports are also planning to do.

"One train, over half a mile, can take the equivalent of cargo in about 120 trucks," Kevin Lynskey, the port's assistant director for business initiatives, told the Miami Herald.

Some $28 million will come from a federal grant for which the port is applying, with another $10 million from Florida East Coast Railway (FEC), $6.6 million from the Florida Department of Transportation and $2.3 million from the port itself.

The plan calls for a refurbishment of the long-neglected railway tracks from the port to the FEC Hialeah Railyard near Miami airport. The plan also includes an overhaul of the port that includes a new highway tunnel under Biscayne Bay as well as dredging from 42 to 50 feet.

Today, the port can accommodate ships of 4,200 TEU, but expects to be able to handle 7,500- to 8,500-TEU vessels once dredging is completed.

The overhaul to be ready in time for the Panama expansion completion plans mark a historic upgrade for the Port of Miami, traditionally a gateway for cargo to and from Latin American and the Caribbean.

For years, cargo arriving and leaving the Port of Miami has been mainly hauled by truck passing through downtown Miami to reach the port's cargo area. There is no direct link between the port and the nearby expressways such as Interstate 95 and State Road 836.

Once the tunnel opens, it will provide the first direct port connection to a high-speed road. A tunnel entrance will be built in the median of the MacArthur Causeway, which links up to the west with Interstate 395, which then connects to I-95 and 836 highways.

Port officials expect 1.4 million cargo truck trips per year after the larger ships start arriving compared to the 870,000 trucks a year that typically move cargo in and out of the harbour today.
(Source:www.schednet.com)