Port of N.Y.-N.J. continuing on-dock rail expansion

Port of N.Y.-N.J. continuing on-dock rail expansion The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said the on-dock rail system in Elizabeth, N.J. will have 18 tracks by the end of the year.
   The port agency said two tracks were recently added to the ExpressRail terminal there, bringing the total to 10.
   The planned expansion will bring on-dock track length from its current 22,000 linear feet to a total of more than 40,000 linear feet The terminal is served by both CSX and Norfolk Southern.
   The port is spending $530 million on continued improvement to the ExpressRail facilities in Elizabeth, Newark and Staten Island.
   The Elizabeth and Newark terminals, which are operational, last year handled more than 330,000 cargo containers, a 12 percent increase from 2005.
   The ExpressRail Terminal at the New York Container Terminal at the Howland Hook section of Staten Island is expected to begin operation by July. It will allow CSX and Norfolk Southern to serve container lines calling there.
   In Newark, the port said the addition of new support tracks in March has doubled capacity of the on-dock rail terminal there. That terminal is served by CSX, but improvements are expected to allow Norfolk Southern to build trains there by next year.
   William Goetz, vice president at CSX Transportation, said he was optimistic about future rail growth at the port, saying the port is “executing on its master plan. The Port of New York and New Jersey has a good grasp of the rail capacity issue” and is building both on-dock and support rail facilities to allow increased movement of intermodal containers.
   The port authority earlier this year opened a rehabilitated rail bridge that connects Staten Island and New Jersey. The port authority and New York City spent about $75 million to rehabilitate a short-line railroad that will connect the island to the national rail grid.
   Goetz said CSX has provided pricing information to steamship lines for destinations throughout the Midwest that might be served from Staten Island.