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The Port of Baltimore
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September/October 2012
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berth, gives Maryland a great competitive
edge to take advantage of CSX’s National
Gateway Initiative and the widening of
the Panama Canal.” The Governor added,
“
Being ahead of the curve compared to
other East Coast ports will mean more
good-paying family jobs here in Maryland.”
Trains bound for the Midwest leaving
the current ICTF at the Port of Baltimore’s
Seagirt Marine Terminal must go through
the 116-year-old Howard Street Tunnel,
which can only accommodate single-stack
trains. Modifying the 1.4-mile-long tunnel
to allow double-stacked trains would cost
billions. Instead, planners sought a site
south of the tunnel where containers de-
livered from the Port by single-stack trains
and trucks could be double-stack on trains
headed south and west via the National
Gateway Initiative.
As an $850 million public-private
partnership between CSX, the federal
government and Mid-Atlantic states, the
National Gateway Initiative is creating a
network of tracks with adequate clearance
for double-stacked trains. Double-stacking
containers improves efficiency, lowers cost,
saves fuel and reduces carbon emissions.
Because of their size and shape, the
original four county sites were projected
to accommodate some 200,000 container
lifts per year. These county sites would
will help Baltimore keep and grow jobs in
the city while securing our Port’s future
economic growth for the next generation,”
she said. “This represents a significant
economic investment in Baltimore, and we
look forward to working with the State of
Maryland and CSX to review the proposal
to utilize an existing rail yard and fully
consider all related issues.”
Dormsjo noted that the new site is
closer to the Port “so container move-
ment will be shorter both inbound and
outbound.”
“
This is very good news for the
Port of Baltimore,” said Maryland Port
Administration (MPA) Executive Director
James J. White. “Pending proper review and
final approval, this selected site would allow
for the Port to have long-awaited near-dock
double-stack container capability. If priced
right by CSX, this would greatly improve the
Port’s ability to handle discretionary cargo
outside of our local market.”
The 60-acre Mount Clare site will have
the capacity for 85,000 container lifts a
year. “That’s north of what Seagirt did
last year,” Dormsjo said, referring to the
existing ICTF. “We have room to exceed
where we are now.”
Although the site is smaller, Dormsjo
noted that the shape of the parcel of land
actually mattered more than acreage. “The
have cost between $140 million to $325
million, requiring federal dollars that would
have resulted in a lengthier review process.
“
We determined if we could find a
location in a more suitable area with
industrial characteristics that could serve
the Port of Baltimore, then a scaled-back
version could be delivered within our
timeline,” Dormsjo said.
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-
Blake had been urging planners to consider
a city site. “A new rail intermodal facility
As an $850 million
public-private partner-
ship between CSX, the
federal government and
Mid-Atlantic states,
the National Gateway
Initiative is creating a
network of tracks with
adequate clearance for
double-stack trains.