CSX on-dock service to start in Virginia

   CSX will commence on-dock rail service at the Port of Virginia’s APM Terminal on Jan. 3, the company said Tuesday.
   The Jacksonville, Fla.-based railroad previously offered limited service from the terminal to a small rail yard that required containers to be shuttled back and forth by truck.
   In January, the carrier will use the Commonwealth Rail, a short line that shuttles containers between the APMT facility and a marshaling yard in nearby Suffolk that is also used by Norfolk Southern to drop and pick up international railcars.
   CSX’s ability to offer increased service at the Port of Virginia in Portsmouth is a function of its National Gateway initiative, a huge capital program to clear rail lines for double-stack intermodal trains and make other improvements in the mid-Atlantic region and beyond to improve connectivity to the Midwest. 
   In October, CSX began offering rail service between the Port of Virginia and its new intermodal hub in North Baltimore, Ohio. It also announced that it had reached agreement with Maersk Line to haul containers from East Coast ports, effectively giving CSX its first viable on-dock rail access at the Port of Virginia. Maersk Line vessels call at APMT.
   CSX had previously targeted the first quarter for commencing on-dock rail there without giving a specific date.
   The railroad said it will continue to serve a near-dock ramp in the city of Portsmouth that handles containers drayed by truck and domestic traffic. – Eric Kulisch