The Port of Virginia has announced its new central rail yard is now fully operational.
The port noted that the completion of this project will allow the port to process 2 million TEU by rail each year.
According to the port, the extension improves rail access to important Midwestern population and industry regions, as stated by speakers at the project’s inauguration ceremony on 6 August.
Virginia Transportation Secretary W. Sheppard Miller III, US Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg, Maritime Administrator Rear Admiral (Ret.) Ann Philips, US leaders Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Jen Kiggans (R-VA), as well as industry leaders, were in attendance.
Stephen A. Edwards, CEO and Executive Director of the Virginia Port Authority, said: “Modernising and expanding the capability at Norfolk International Terminals’ central rail yard gives us additional rail capacity ahead of the completion of the first phase of expansion at NIT’s North Berth in 2025.
“Cargo volumes coming to the US East Coast are steadily increasing and moving the cargo to market by rail, over the Port of Virginia, is smart business.”
Deputy Transportation Secretary, Polly Trottenberg, stated: “We are proud to be a steward of this port modernization project contributing a $20 million investment which not only expands the Norfolk International Terminals’ central rail yard, but serves to elevate the entire Port of Virginia as a critical hub for trade on the East Coast.”
Construction began in 2022, and the $83 million project was completed on schedule and below budget. The investment is part of the port’s wider $1.4 billion Gateway Investment Program.
The port used a $20 million federal grant and a $20 million grant from the state Department of Rail and Public Transportation to construct two additional rail track bundles and buy three all-electric cantilever rail-mounted gantry cranes.
The project increases the port’s annual on-dock rail capacity by 455,000 TEU, a 31 per cent increase overall.
Recently, the Port of Virginia closed fiscal year 2024 (FY2024) having processed 3.5 million TEU, a 2 per cent increase over FY2023 and the second-best fiscal year performance in the port’s history.
