Port of Miami puts rail project on fast track

The rail track leading out of the Port of Miami is now covered in part with overgrown grass. The clear impression is that the track is either abandoned or not in regular use. But that may be about to change.

Port of Miami officials provided details of a new transportation plan calling for the US$46.9 million refurbishment of the rail track to speed cargo trains from the port to the FEC Hialeah Railyard, a major rail cargo hub near Miami International Airport, reported The Miami Herald.

The track plan is part of a comprehensive port overhaul that also includes a new highway tunnel under Biscayne Bay to the port and a dredging project to deepen the port harbour from the current 42 to 50 ft for the superships of the future.

In partnership with the Florida Department of Transportation and the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC), the Port of Miami wants to put the track in service in anticipation of a Panama Canal expansion that will accommodate far larger container ships than current freight vessels. The tunnel alone will not be sufficient to handle the increased cargo, port officials said.

If everything goes according to plan, all of these projects – the canal expansion, the tunnel, the track and the port dredging – should all be ready by 2014.

The overhaul plans mark a historic upgrade for the Port of Miami, which is considered a gateway to cargo traffic to and from Latin American and the Caribbean. The port is the second leading job generator in the county after the airport, port officials said.

"This is probably the most exciting time in the history of this port in probably 50 or 60 years," said Bill Johnson, Port of Miami director.

Kevin Lynskey, the Port of Miami's assistant director for business initiatives, said the rail project would cost about $46.9 million.

Most of the money, about $28 million, would come from a federal grant for which the port is applying. Lynskey said the balance of project funds would come from the partners in the plan: FEC, about $10 million; Florida Department of Transportation, about $6.6 million; and the port itself, about $2.3 million.

The project would essentially restore regular rail cargo service to and from the port, which was interrupted three years ago when a storm damaged a port bridge. Cargo could move on trains that would cross Biscayne Boulevard on the north side of Bayside and the Freedom Tower, then curve north to 79th street and west to Hialeah.

But even before the storm, rail service was sporadic and mainly reserved for oversize loads not adequate for highway travel.

For years now, cargo arriving and leaving the Port of Miami has been mainly hauled by freight trucks 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.

The tunnel will improve highway access for some -– but not all – cargo trucks; those carrying hazardous materials will be banned. The refurbished rail track will restore rail cargo access to the port – a key element if port cargo activity increases, as hoped, in light of the Panama Canal expansion.

Cargo now moves largely in containers that can be easily loaded onto ships, freight trains or cargo trucks.

Currently, cargo ships docking at the Port of Miami carry about 4,200 TEUs. Once the canal is expanded and the Port of Miami cargo harbour dredged, ships carrying 7,500 or 8,500 TEUs will be able to dock here.

The larger ships will sharply increase cargo movement in the port, therefore requiring more than trucks to move containers quickly, Lysnkey said.

The rail restoration will allow containers to move directly to the FEC Hialeah Railyard, a major cargo hub. From there, the containers would be transferred to freight trains or trucks.

Much of the port cargo passes through warehouses near Miami International Airport relatively near the Hialeah railyard.
Lynskey said freight trains can move more containers than trucks can in one single trip.

"One train, over half a mile, can take the equivalent of cargo in about 120 trucks," said Lynskey.

Port officials anticipate about 1.4 million cargo truck trips per year after the larger ships start arriving. Last year about 870,000 freight trucks moved cargo in and out of the port.
(Source:www.cargonewsasia.com)