CSX Intermodal service back in Elizabeth

CSX Intermodal service back in Elizabeth

   CSX Intermodal's service between the Port Elizabeth, N.J., and New England has gotten a boost.

   In July, CSX moved the service to and from Worcester-Stackbridge, Mass., back to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s on-dock ExpressRail Elizabeth terminal. It previously used an off-dock terminal in South Kearny.

   The service, which is just for international freight, will result in big savings for many shippers, because the charge for an on-terminal move is only about $90 to 95, compared to about $175 for a dray to the off-dock terminal. Those lower rates are available for shippers moving cargo to and from the adjacent APM or Maersk Terminals, but containers can also be drayed from other New York-New Jersey marine terminals.

   Carriers that use the service will also benefit from the New York Shipping Association's decision last month to reduce the assessment charged to ocean carriers on all loaded rail containers to $10 from $110 for containers with an origin or destination of less than 260 miles from the port. For now, the service to Worcester is the only service that fits that description.

   Bill Cronin, manager of shipper sales at the port authority, said it is still early, but in the second week after the change was made, volumes climbed from 163 to 331 containers.

   The service is offered Monday through Saturday with a 4:30 p.m. cutoff for imports at ExpressRail Elizabeth and availability in Worcester/Stackbridge on the second morning at 7 a.m.

   For exports it is a Wednesday-through-Monday service with a Worcester/Stackbridge cutoff of 5 p.m. and second-day availability at ExpressRail Elizabeth at 11 a.m.

   Meanwhile Cronin also noted that CSX plans to start up marine container service between the ExpressRail Elizabeth terminal and the Seneca Yard in Buffalo on a six-day-a-week basis starting in October.

   The rail carrier has spent $8.5 million building an intermodal yard in Buffalo.