Eastern Railroad Discussion > GPA & NS Announce a Second Inland Port

Yesterday, the Georgia Port Authority officially announced a second Inland Port, which is going to be built on Norfolk Southern's Piedmont Div., just north of Gainesville, GA. Expected completion date and opening will be in 2021. The site will be along I-985 with access to I-85 a short drive to the east. As part of the announcement an auto parts stamping facility was also announced as part of the regional development project.

The site will give more direct rail access from Savannah to NS' Crescent Corridor, from New Orleans to New York City. 

Weblink to the article in the Atlanta Business Journal:
https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2018/12/03/georgia-to-build-second-inland-port-near.html

Russ



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/06/18 14:14 by NSTopHat.

  Russ, do you think there might be a increase in rail traffic? I hope so.

  TIA 
Steve H...

hartrick24 Wrote:
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>   Russ, do you think there might be a increase in
> rail traffic? I hope so.
>
>   TIA 
> Steve H...

Steve;

There definitely will be an increase in traffic on the line. You will have a number of inbound trains from Savannah and then depending on traffic patterns out of the inland port, you will see more. We will definietly see more power staged in Gainesville.

Don't forget the 8025 is on today's 211.

Russ

As was pointed out recently on TO, the GPA inland ports have a problem.  You can't move containers by rail at the speeds necessary to compete with trucks.  It is about 165 miles from Savannah to Macon via i-16.  It is about 190 miles via NS and most of that is dark territory.  G&W's GA Central route is about 20 miles shorter.  Once you get to Macon then you have to deal with getting to Atlanta and back out to Gainesville.

It is going to take much cash, creative thinking, and cooperation from all concerned to fix the problem.  You can download a copy of the GA DOT railroad map at http://www.dot.ga.gov/IS/Rail.

One possibly favorable sign is that NS is doing a major T&S on the southern part of the Griffin District.  This is liikely first major work on line since CWR was installed on this section in 2010.  A quick view of the track while driving across the Bass Rd. bridge would give one the impression  that track is good for far more than the 40 mph speed limit (but no CTC, no PTC).

John

This is good news for an area that's already seeing economic growth.

I wonder if the Georgia Ports Authority decided to create more competition with an NS served inland port?  Give the shippers a choice.