Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) is to develop an intermodal hub at Port Everglades.

The intermodal container transfer facility (ICTF), which will become operational at the beginning of 2014, will allow freight to move more efficiently around the south-east US by rail, according to the port.

Broward County Mayor John Rodstrom said: “This is a great public-private partnership that has been 15 years in the making.

“The ICTF is a double-bonus win for Broward County because it will help increase international trade while taking trucks off the roads.”

The ICTF will be used to transfer containers between ship and rail within the port, removing the need for trucks to haul the boxes to and from off-port rail terminals, currently located in Fort Lauderdale and in central Miami-Dade County.

The FEC also plans to relocate its domestic intermodal service from its Fort Lauderdale rail yard to the ICTF at Port Everglades.

Once completed, the ICTF is expected to reduce congestion on interstate highways and local roadways and reduce harmful air emissions by removing an estimated 180,000 truck journeys from the roads by 2027.

FEC President James Hertwig said: “FEC will develop a state-of-the-art, intermodal facility that will bring long-term jobs, stimulate additional capital projects, such as new warehouse and distribution facilities, and create new trading lanes to and from South America, Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia.”

Source: http://www.ifw-net.com