Savannah opens 2nd intermodal terminal

Savannah opens 2nd intermodal terminal    The Port of Savannah said it celebrated the opened its second Intermodal Container Transfer Facility at the Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City Terminal Thursday.
   The new facility features three working tracks at 2,145 feet each and a total of 12,406 feet of storage tracks.
   Gov. Sonny Perdue drove the ceremonial last spike into the Chatham ICTF rail held a ceremony Thursday to mark the opening.
   “A thriving business climate requires a transportation network that can support commerce and act as a catalyst to propel our economy forward,” Perdue said. “The completion of the Chatham ICTF will help to achieve this goal.”
   The Port of Savannah said it’s two Class I rail providers, CSX and Norfolk Southern, offer unrestricted double-stack service with two- to five-day transit times to major hubs throughout the Midwest, Gulf Coast and Southeast.
   The Chatham ICTF was completed in early December and received its first train on Dec. 22. CSX will provide seven weekly services through the facility.
   The port said use of rubber-tired gantry cranes at the ICTF will increase efficiency and utilize cleaner burning ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel, cutting emissions by 10 percent and creating a reduction in nitrogen oxide, carbon and particulate matter emissions.
   Cargo received by rail accounts for 18 percent of business at Garden City Terminal. During the past five calendar years, Savannah’s on-dock rail volumes have increased 67 percent.