Norfolk Southern’s new rail route offers a faster option for importers and exporters with intermodal cargo interested in utilizing the Port of Charleston, according to a statement from the South Carolina Ports Authority.
Norfolk Southern is giving shippers a more direct intermodal option for moving international cargo between the Port of Charleston and Charlotte, N.C.
The railroad has added a two-day service that will operate five days per week connecting Charleston and NS’s intermodal facility at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, the South Carolina Ports Authority announced Thursday. Containers will ride an existing NS overnight intermodal train between Charleston and Spartanburg, where they will connect at an NS yard to intermodal train service between Spartanburg and Charlotte.
Until now, most cargo transported between those cities went by truck or was dropped off at the port authority’s inland port in Greer, where rail-to-truck transfers for imports and exports are made in the western part of the state. Shippers also have a the option of riding the Charleston-to-Atlanta route and connecting to a line between Atlanta and Charlotte, but that is less desirable because the circuitous route adds days to the transit.
Charlotte cargo will move on the same dedicated trains NS runs daily between its yard in Charleston and the Greer inland port. On the import side, trains will add a stop in Spartanburg to decouple the block of cars for Charlotte before heading to the inland port and discharging the rest of the containers. On the export side, the train from Greer will stop in Spartanburg on its way back to Charleston.
“This dramatically-improved containerized rail service between Charlotte and the Port of Charleston is the result of collaboration between the Norfolk Southern Railway and the South Carolina Ports Authority,” said SCPA CEO Jim Newsome. “Charlotte is most logically served via the Port of Charleston, and this link provides a very reliable rail option that has not previously existed. The Charlotte market is fast-growing and offers a very diverse containerized cargo base, including furniture, home improvement goods, general department store merchandise, and chemicals.”
Cities in North Carolina that may benefit from the new service include Concord, Shelby, Gastonia, Statesboro, Wilkesboro, Greensboro, High Point, Rock Hill, and Fort Mill, according to the port authority.
The cutoff time in Charleston for cargo to get on the train is 1:30 p.m. for delivery by 10 a.m. in Charlotte two days later, according to a client advisory from SCPA. The Charlotte cut of time is 6 p.m., with cargo available in Charleston for drayage to the port by 4 p.m. on the second day.
The growth in demand is prompting the South Carolina Ports Authority to develop more rail options for shippers.
The Port of Charleston has seen a surge in intermodal volumes the past four years. In 2011, 12 percent of containers moved in and out of the port via intermodal rail and last year that figure reached 22 percent. The growth in intermodal movements has been spurred by several port authority initiatives to expedite service, not least of which was the opening of the inland port 2.5 years ago. Rail volumes via Greer have greatly exceeded projections, growing 76.5 percent to 75,111 total rail moves in 2015.
Norfolk Southern initially dropped cargo at the inland port using the same trains bound for Atlanta, but the volume became so great that it required a dedicated shuttle between Greer and Charleston.
NS begins 2-day rail service between Charlotte, Charleston
