The Port of Virginia has fully activated its expanded central rail yard, marking the completion of a project that now enables the port to handle 2 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) by rail each year.
“Modernizing and expanding the capability at NIT’s [Norfolk International Terminals] central rail yard gives us additional rail capacity ahead of the completion of the first phase of expansion at NIT’s North Berth [in 2025],” said Stephen A. Edwards, CEO and Executive Director of the Virginia Port Authority. “Cargo volumes coming to the US East Coast are steadily increasing and moving the cargo to market by rail, over The Port of Virginia, is smart business.”
The expansion enhances the port’s reach to important Midwestern population and manufacturing centers by train, Edwards said at a ceremony to inaugurate the expansion. Virginia Transportation Secretary W. Sheppard “Shep” Miller III, US Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg, Maritime Administrator Rear Admiral (Ret.) Ann Philips, US Reps. Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Jen Kiggans (R-VA) along with industry representatives were in attendance.
“We are proud to be a steward of this port modernization project contributing a $20 million investment which not only expands the Norfolk International Terminals’ central rail yard, but serves to elevate the entire Port of Virginia as a critical hub for trade on the East Coast,” said Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg.
Construction on the $83 million project began in 2022 and was completed on schedule and within budget as part of the Port of Virginia’s broader $1.4 billion Gateway Investment Program. The port utilized a $20 million federal grant and a $20 million grant from the state Department of Rail and Public Transportation to construct two new rail track bundles and acquire three all-electric cantilever rail-mounted gantry cranes. This project boosts the port’s on-dock rail capacity by an additional 455,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) annually, representing a 31 percent increase across the port.
“Our Gateway Investment Program includes delivery of the deeper, wider and safer 55-foot [deep] channel, the expansion of North NIT and the creation of the Portsmouth offshore wind hub. This additional rail capacity has been delivered on-time, in advance of the deeper channel and phase one of the North Berth expansion. Maintaining the construction schedule is important as we begin to message to the trade and talk about our expanded capabilities today, and what is coming in the very near future.”
Both of the East’s Class I rail carriers, Norfolk Southern and CSX, serve the port with regular, on- dock, double-stack service.
