b'8American Journal ofTransportation ajot.com(NETWORKcontinuedand retail warehousing.from page 4) Wewillofferrefriger-has also maintained its focusated cargo by rail, with this on sustainability, with everyunique transit from the Blue truck mile that moves by railRidgeConnectortoSavan-reducing CO2 emissions. nah,aGPAspokesman said.Therearefivecold i nlanDp ortss upport storagefreezerswithinfive G loBalt raDe anDl oCal milesofourlocation,and e Conomies more than 50 users of those TheGPAssupportofcoldstoragefacilities.We intermodaloperationsandlooktoprovideservicesto converting truck miles to railthis customer base.is demonstrated by its inlandTheMasonMegaRail portmodel.ThismodelTerminalinSavannah,with means that containers can bean annual capacity of 2 mil-trucked for shorter distanceslion TEUs, is another exam-and staged at the intermodalple of GPAs commitment to yard, where they are loadedintermodaltransportationto onto trains moving hundredsdriveefficiencyandreduce of containers in a single trip. emissions.TherearethreeprimaryIt is the largest on-port inlandportsinGeorgia. TherailterminalintheWestern AppalachianRegionalPorthemisphere,handling42 (ARP) is a joint effort of thetrains per week, said a GPAThe Port of Savannahs Garden City Terminal gets cargo moving from vessel to departing rail in about a day, stateofGeorgia,Murrayspokesman. compared to a weeks wait at West Coast ports.County,theGPA,andCSXThe efficiency of the GPAs Transportation.Thisinlandinlandportmodelisalready(FASTcontinued frombeeneffectiveindevelopingpeople.Whileallindus-terminal opened in 2018 andbeingrealized.In2024,thepage 4) public/privatepartnershipstries face challenges finding now provides a new gatewayAppalachian Regional Port inadditiontoitsconnectivityandrelationshipswiththeskilled workers, said a Port to global markets. NorthwestGeorgiahandledwith inland ports, Savannahscompanies that use the ports,ofSavannahrepresentative, Owned and operated by themore than 37,800 containers.railandintermodalservicesfromoceancarrierstorail- the GPAs outreach activities GPA, the Bainbridge inland portEach container moved by railalso expand its reach. roads and trucking companies. include job fairs, partnerships is located on the Apalachicola- avoids a 710-mile round tripAswithmanyaspectsCommunicationsandwithstateuniversities,and Chattahoochee-FlintWater- by truck. ofitsterminalservices,theresponsivenessarekeytotheYES+programthrough wayorTri-Riverssystem.With ample current capac- PortofSavannahmeasuresbuildingstrongpartnershipswhichGPAofferstraining Thefacilityisequippedtoitytohandledemandanditsperformanceinthespeedwith stakeholders, said a Portandemploymentforrecent handle a variety of bulk cargoroom to grow its business, thewith which port-to-rail opera- ofSavannahrepresentative.highschoolgraduatesseek-viabargetraffic,includingAppalachian Regional Port istions can be conducted. TheOne example he mentioned ising to start their careers.gypsum,cottonseed,andnot experiencing any conges- Mason Megal Rail intermodalthe construction of the inter- In the future, the Port of cypress bark mulch. tion, said a GPA spokesman. facilityprovidesservicesinmodal terminal. This effortSavannahwillcontinueto PlansareunderwayforA GPA spokesman notedless than 24 hours. The sameincluded shifting the Norfolkfocus on capacity, connectiv-the third inland port, the Bluethattheorganizationhasservices require 14-21 days atSouthern mainline onto portity, and communications with RidgeConnector(BRC),workedtodeveloppositivesome West Coast terminals,property,avoidingat-gradestakeholderstodriveaddi-whichwillprovideadirectrelationshipswithnumeroussaid a port representative. crossingsthroughneighbor- tional growth.linktothePortofSavan- stakeholders,includingrail- The GPAs speed to railingcommunities.ThisnotGeorgia Ports President and nahviaNorfolkSouthern.roads, ocean carriers, economicenablesour1-2-3Strategy,onlyallowedmoreefficientCEO Griff Lynch recently told LocatednearGainesville,developmentassociations,he explained. The first dayintermodal service, but it alsoagroupofmorethan1,700 Georgia, the 104-acre facilityandstateandfederalagen- is to offload from the vessel.improvedthequalityoflifebusinessleaders,Growthat is 62 percent complete. Con- cies, to establish Georgia asThe second day cargo goes onfor those who live and com- thenationsgatewaytermi-structionshouldbefinisheda leader in global trade. Withrail containers. The third daymute in the area. nals outpaced all other ports byspring2026.Locatedanexpandinginfrastructure,is when cargo reaches its des- ThePortofSavannahin the nation, and Savannah along the manufacturing andinnovativetechnologies,andtination. alsoviewscommunicationis clearly the gateway port for logistics corridor of Interstateacommitmenttoefficiency,as an effective way to attractthe US Southeast. We see this 85 in Hall County, it will pro- the GPA is committed to con- C ommuniCations andretainemployees.Thepatternonlycontinuingto vide Class I rail service andnecting Georgia to the world. The Port of Savannah hasGPA currently employs 1,700accelerate.proximitytotheNational Freight Network.Movingcargotothe regionbyraileliminates a600-mileroundtripbyCargo Group LLC trucktoandfromthePort6232 Hwy 21of Savannah. With an antici-patedopeningvolumeofSavannah, Ga 31407 26,000containersperyear, itwillhelpavoid15.6mil- 912-966-2066 lionroundtriptruckmiles in its first year of operation. That equates to a reduction inwww.CargoGroupLLC.com logistics-related emissions by 22,510 metric tons of CO2.Atfullcapacityof 200,000 containers, 120 mil- CAPABILITIES lion truck miles, and 173,157 metric tons of CO2 would be US Customs Bonded avoidedeachyear,saida GPA spokesman.Transload & Drayage The Blue Ridge Connec-Export Flat Rack Loading tor is intended to serve as an economiccatalyst,attract-Crating & Packing ingnewbusinesstoNorth-Non-Compliant Wood and eastGeorgia.Theinland terminalwillsupporttheVacuum Services 9,600 full-time and part-time Domestic Cargo Routing HallCountyjobscurrently engaged by port activity and Inventory Management more than 63,000 jobs in theYour Global Connection Partner 3.5 Miles from GPA Gates nine-county area. Target mar-kets include industrial equip-ment,food,forestproducts,'