Seattle BNSF facility gets new electric gantry cranes

Seattle BNSF facility gets new electric gantry cranes Fort Worth, Texas-based Class I railroad BNSF said Thursday it has added four wide-span, electric-powered, rail-mounted gantry cranes to the Seattle International Gateway intermodal facility.
   BNSF, which ordered the new cranes in August 2007, is the first railroad to install the Konecranes. The railroad claims the new cranes are more flexible, increase capacity and cut pollution.
   Each wide-span crane is 152 feet wide, with a 26-foot cantilever. Each crane is able to access four rows of four-high stacked containers, three truck lanes and three ramp tracks.
   The cranes are part of a major upgrade project at the SIG facility, which reopened on Feb. 1. The project saw the redesign of the facility to use the new cranes and the addition of six new tracks totaling 7,800 feet. The facility serves the nearby Port of Seattle.
   'The installation of these wide-span cranes has nearly doubled the capacity at our SIG facility, and reduces our impact on the environment while supporting the growth of international commerce at the Port of Seattle,' said Mike Burke, assistant vice president, BNSF intermodal hub operations.
   Along with providing additional capacity, BNSF also claims that the cranes have increased throughput at the SIG facility by about 30 percent.
   In addition, the new cranes also give BNSF a 'green' boost, by producing zero emissions on site, less noise pollution, and can reduce energy consumption by using a regenerative power system.
   'By replacing diesel equipment with new electric cranes, it has done so in a way that is friendly to the environment, which is equally important as we pursue our goal of being the cleanest, greenest, most energy efficient port in the U.S.,' said Port of Seattle Commission President John Creighton.