Georgia Ports’ Mega Rail Project Hits Milestone
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
Late last month, the first CSX train ran along newly installed track connecting Garden City Terminal’s Chatham and Mason Mega rail yards, as part of Georgia Ports Authority’s Mason Mega Rail Terminal project. (GPA / Emily Goldman)
Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) has completed track installation to link the Garden City Terminal’s Chatham and Mason Mega rail yards, which it said boosts on-terminal storage capacity 35% and helps accommodate nearly 10,000-foot-long unit trains for CSX and Norfolk Southern.
The work is part of GPA’s Mason Mega Rail project, which late last month reached a milestone of 75% completion. The project broke ground in 2018, and includes 124,000 feet of new track, 88 automated switches and rail control devices, and the rail and power infrastructure to support the operation of rail-mounted gantry cranes. Mason Mega Rail combines the on-dock CSX and NS rail terminals into one facility.
“When complete, Mason Mega Rail Terminal will not only double our rail lift capacity to 2 million TEUs [twenty-foot equivalent container units] per year, it will increase our reach into the heartland with more frequent, direct service and unmatched reliability,” GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch said. “This expansion will also ensure the free flow of cargo across our terminal and beyond our gates as [the Port of] Savannah takes on more business.”
Container volumes at Savannah reached 464,095 TEUs in October—an “all time high,” beating August 2020’s 441,600 TEUs, Lynch reported, and a 8.3% increase over October 2019.
GPA’s trade in vehicles and machinery units grew by 24% in October, with a total volume of 78,772 units.
“The progress we have already made on the Mason Mega Rail has delivered significant capacity increases, and will further assure Savannah’s role as the third-busiest container gateway in the nation,” Lynch said.
