PPC starts on-dock rail at Cristobal

PPC starts on-dock rail at Cristobal    Panama Port Co., the Panamanian arm of the Hutchison Port Holdings Group, said Friday it has started on-dock rail operations at the Port of Cristobal.
   PPC said it started the on-dock rail service with a shipment of containers from its Cristobal yard, located on the Atlantic/Caribbean end of the Panama Canal, to the PPC-operated terminal at the Port of Balboa on the Pacific end. The company said the new intermodal facility make Cristobal the first container port on the Atlantic side to provide an on-dock rail link.
   'PPC's effective on-dock rail facilities at the Port of Cristobal provide the maritime industry with a timely and cost-efficient link between the two coasts of the Panama Canal. The new service is operated on a 24-hour-a-day basis, seven days a week, allowing global shipping lines operating in the region to significantly reduce their associated transportation costs by using the ports of Balboa and Cristobal as one port of call,' said Alejandro Kouruklis, PPC general manager.