A celebration was enjoyed in honor of the new GPA’s Mega Rail project, as it will be a valuable service to increase production. The project will double rail lift capacity and be used increase cargo to inland markets.

In 2018 the direction will be on a pair of rail bridges which will hold 7 tracks that connect 2 other intermodal container transfer stations. The Georgia Port Authority officials figure that the new terminal will begin to get online by the fall of 2019, with the outlook of completion in the fall of 2020.

✧  PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS:
⟢  $126.7 million is set for the total cost of the Mega Rail expansion
⟢  Chatham and Mason rail yards, operated by CSX & Norfolk Southern railroads, will be combined
⟢  The new terminal will allow 10,000 ft.  trains to be loaded at the terminal with containers double-stacked
⟢  Those trains will increase the capacity from 500,000 container lifts per year to 1 million
⟢ The estimates are the terminal will slash rail times to the Midwest by a good 24 hours & present a viable new option for many manufacturers, shippers and logistics professionals
⟢ The massive rail expansion in Garden City & the ongoing harbor deepening in Savannah will be able to keep up with growing demand and maintain its position as the Southeast’s dominant gateway to global trade
⟢  The rail switching will be brought onto the terminal, avoiding the use of nearly two dozen rail crossings 
⟢  When complete, the Garden City Terminal will have a total of 180,000 feet of rail, 18 working tracks and the capability of building 10,000-foot unit trains on terminal 

⩨  In the future the trains will go around the Garden City instead of traveling on tracks that divides the city. This will bring so many benefits to the ports and business while providing some relief to the Garden City community all with an improvement to vehicle traffic flow.  ⩨

✧  POSITIVE RESULTS:
⟣  Over the past year the average container moves-per-vessel has increased by 15%
⟣  Exchanges of 5,000 - 20 ft. equivalent container units are now more common
⟣  Creating a stronger intermodal rail capacity
⟣  Adding bandwidth across all points of interaction - from surface transportation to yard and dock transactions will increase speed
⟣  Increasing yard cranes and expanding truck gates
⟣  In estimation, the new intermodal terminal could take more than 200,000 trucks off the road annually

For drivers and continuity of transportation in the area, it will mean less railroad crossings and a decrease of trucks throughout the state who share their roads.