WORK has begun on the CAD285 million (US$217 million) expansion of the intermodal yard at Global Container Terminal -the largest container facility - at Port Metro Vancouver in Canada.
The project will expand the railyard's annual capacity at GCT's Deltaport Terminal by 50 per cent so that it can maintain a speedy transfer of 1.9 million TEU annually between the docks and intermodal trains even when larger ships begin calling at the facility in the next few years, according to IHS Media.
Maintaining the roughly two-day dwell time even when the size of the typical ship calling GCT Deltaport jumps from 9,000 TEU to 14,000 TEU is vital because US shippers are increasingly moving cargo through the terminal, GCT CEO Stephen Edwards said.
The terminal risks losing US-bound cargo to the ports of Seattle and Tacoma if it is unable provide fast and reliable transits to the US Midwest.
The volume of US-bound cargo moved via rail through Deltaport rose by 35 per cent annually between 2009 and 2014, and Mr Edwards sees no sign that growth will slow down. More and more US shippers are switching to routing through Vancouver and the Port of Prince Rupert to diversify their supply chains after the US west coast congestion debacle in late 2014 and early 2015.
Not having to pay the US Harbour Maintenance Tax, a 0.0125 per cent duty on the value of imports moving through US ports, makes Canadian ports more attractive, but competitive rail service to Chicago and beyond is the main driver.
The volume growth at Deltaport, some of which is tied to the domestic market, helped push container traffic at Vancouver up 5.7 per cent to 2.3 million TEU in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period in 2014.
The rail expansion at Deltaport will increase the terminal's total annual capacity from 1.8 million TEU to 2.4 million TEU. Improved intermodal rail fluidity is aimed at handling the 10,000 container moves generated by the larger vessels. About 7,000 container moves are generated by the 9,000-TEU vessels calling at Deltaport.
The expanded yard, set to be completed in the second half of 2017, will allow Canadian Pacific and Canadian National railways to raise the number of daily double-stack intermodal services serving Deltaport from four to six.
PORTS
05 November 2015 - 22:58
Vancouver Port's railyard expansion to deal with larger ships
WORK has begun on the CAD285 million (US$217 million) expansion of the intermodal yard at Global Container Terminal -the largest container facility - at Port Metro Vancouver in Canada.
PORTS
05 November 2015 - 22:58
Vancouver Port's railyard expansion to deal with larger ships
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