Rail volume jumps at Port of Virginia

Rail volume jumps at Port of Virginia    Cargo traveling to and from the Port of Virginia by train in the first two months of fiscal year 2006 increased 26 percent over the same period in fiscal 2005, the port said Friday.
   'Our rail volumes are just exploding,' Tom Capozzi, the Virginia Port Authority's senior managing director of marketing services, said in a statement. 'What we're seeing is a reflection of a strong intermodal market in general, as well as diversions to our port from those that are experiencing more congestion.'
   In July and August the port's train moves (import and export) tallied 37,182 containers, compared with 29,929 containers moved by rail last July and August. The increase is 7,883 containers, or a daily average of 127 more containers moved by rail. The majority of the cargo moved by rail is going into and coming from the port's major markets in the Midwest: Chicago, Louisville, Ky., Cincinnati, Detroit, Cleveland, St. Louis and Kansas City. The Port of Virginia's rail partners are the Norfolk Southern Corp. and CSX Railroad.