Ports America to operate CSX terminal in Baltimore

The Jacksonville,Fla.-based Class I railway is turning over operating management of the intermodal terminal to Ports America in an attempt to improve the efficiency of rail service at the Port of Baltimore.    Eastern railroad CSX has outsourced the operation of its intermodal terminal at the Port of Baltimore to Ports America, which manages the 284-acre Seagirt Marine Terminal at the port, the companies announced Wednesday. 
   Consolidating management of the marine terminal and 66-acre rail facility next door is expected to result in improved intermodal container service.
   Ports America, which is owned by Highstar Capital, won a long-term concession from the port authority in 2010 in exchange for making infrastructure investments and payments to the state of Maryland. 
   CSX can only carry one container on rail cars coming out of the port because the track has to pass under a tunnel in downtown Baltimore that doesn’t have enough clearance for double-stacking.
   The Port of Baltimore is experiencing strong container growth in 2015, as new ocean carriers such as industry leader Maersk Line have started calling there in the past year. In 2014, the Port of Baltimore set a throughput record with 770,139 TEUs handled and already surpassed that through November, with 776,398 TEUs handled to date.