APM Terminals, which operates the containerized cargo services at the Alabama Port Authority seaport in Mobile, has announced plans for a $60 million expansion of its rail service at the port.
The project includes added track and rail yard storage, plus improved access, and should be complete in about two years. When complete, APM will have about 12,000 feet of working rail track.
Combined with three other on-going projects at the port —deepening and widening the harbor, adding a roadway flyover bridge to avoid traffic congestion and new port rail connections to a terminal in Montgomery — APM’s improvements should enhance productivity, safety and speed to market, the company says.
“Our customers are looking for expanded options for their supply chains so we are focusing on faster connections to rail providers into inland markets,” said Leo Huisman, head of APM Terminals Americas.
The cargo handling company is already at work doubling its capacity with plans to be able to handle 1 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) by 2025. It’s the company’s fourth expansion since it began cargo operations at the port in 2008.
“The harbor improvements will make Mobile the deepest harbor in the U.S. Gulf, with no bridges or other height-restrictive infrastructure interfering with access to the terminal,” the company said in its announcement.
“These improvements and our expanded rail facility will ensure customer competitiveness and strengthen Alabama as the preferred logistics corridor,” Huisman added.
