As published in the July 1, 2010 Toledo Business Journal
Paul Hand,
CSX general manager terminal and
network operations (North Region)
CSX hub positioned for competitive advantage
Highway access issues will impact growth rate
Toledo Business Journal recently conducted an interview to gain insight into the issues involving CSX’s intermodal facility being built in North Baltimore. Paul Hand, CSX general manager terminal and network operations (North Region), shared the following thoughts.
Toledo Business Journal: Can you discuss the progress of construction at CSX’s new North Baltimore intermodal terminal versus the planned schedule?
Paul Hand: The North Baltimore intermodal terminal, which is being constructed by the Evansville Western Railway, is on schedule. We expect to complete construction this December and to begin operations there in the first quarter of 2011.
TBJ: Can you discuss the strategic significance of the North Baltimore terminal to CSX?
PH: This facility will have a significant positive effect on the service offered by CSX Intermodal. There are two keys to this improvement. First, the employees at the terminal will handle a number of trains that today move through and are processed at facilities in Chicago, one of the busiest rail centers in the world. Handling those trains and their containers in North Baltimore will cut about 24-48 hours from trains moving to and from the west coast. We expect that about 30 trains per day will start or finish their trips in North Baltimore. Those trains serve major markets and port areas like New York, Baltimore, Norfolk, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Seattle.
You may have read recently that Hyundai Intermodal, a major international shipper, recently decided to move their containers on the CSX network; that decision was a result of the benefits offered by this new terminal.
To give you an idea of the volume of traffic involved, today about 1.3 million containers a year move through North Baltimore on CSX trains.
TBJ: Can you share your thoughts concerning the terminal’s potential impact on economic development in the region after it opens?
PH: I think this facility will offer great benefits for the region. First, it will employ more than 200 people when it becomes fully operational and will serve as the distribution hub for anything that can be bought at a retailer, from household electronic equipment to clothing.
It will also help complete the region’s transportation infrastructure, which already includes Interstate 75, Interstate 80/90, a seaport, and an airport. With BAX Global, you have worldwide air connections for freight. This intermodal terminal adds a rail component and further strengthens the northwest Ohio region as a major logistics hub. The terminal will give a significant transportation advantage, improving access to global markets and creating a logical place to site regional distribution facilities serving businesses that are located in the region.
TBJ: Significant investment in advanced technology is being placed at the North Baltimore terminal. Can you discuss specifics of this new technology?
PH: The northwest Ohio terminal represents a new generation of US intermodal terminals featuring wide span cranes to serve rail, trucks, and container stacks. Five wide span cranes will span eight tracks, two straddle lanes, one truck lane, and five container stacks (four high). These almost silent, ultra-efficient, environmentally friendly cranes will reduce energy consumption, improve efficiency, and significantly reduce emissions. When transferring cargo containers between trains and trucks, the cranes will use electric motors to reduce emissions and will store the energy from crane, trolley, and hoist decelerations.
The use of optical cargo scanners at inbound and outbound gates will improve terminal efficiency and minimize truck idle time to reduce emissions. Scanners at both ends of the northwest Ohio terminal will provide information used to automatically generate a work order to the trucker telling him or her where to find their designated freight. The terminal will be lit with high-pressure sodium bulbs, which reduce energy consumption and provide more directed illumination. The yard will also utilize environmentally friendly steel ties, which are made from recycled steel and are 100% recyclable.
Additionally, a state-of-the-art terminal operations software program is being developed to run this complex operation. This system will minimize container moves and drive further efficiencies in the yard. Safety will be enhanced by a GPS system that will tag every moving piece of equipment in the yard and minimize risks to workers.
Crane operators will train on a state-of-the-art simulator being developed specifically for the new terminal. It will be the first of its kind used in an intermodal terminal.
TBJ: Are there access issues to the new facility involving State Route 18? What impact will this have? What is needed to ensure the project’s success?
PH: The market access and regional development opportunity created by this terminal make it likely that traffic and employment will grow beyond what would be generated just by the terminal. For example, we think the local market will generate about 20,000 trips per year as the facility opens. Over time, as warehouses are constructed and customers continue to take advantage of our capabilities, that combination of warehouses and other economic growth will likely generate additional trips.
ODOT has anticipated this and programmed $2 million through the Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC) program to study alternatives for SR-18 around the Village of North Baltimore. That money will pay for right of way studies and environmental work. Another $3 million in Economic Development Administration (EDA) Federal funds will be requested by Wood County for roadways around the facility. In fact, Wood County has identified the area around the site as its highest priority for the use of these funds.
I think these are very positive steps for the community, but the facility will grow up quickly and I think we need to be ready for that.
TBJ: Are there access issues to the entry gate at the new facility and access to State Route 613? What impact will this have? What is needed to ensure the project’s success?
PH: While there are no issues today, the County has been preparing for future development along Wingston Road, which could increase traffic in the area. As a result, it seems that the bypass around North Baltimore will make a difference, and, as the land use and development around the facility change, having more than one way to reach I-75 safely seems like a good idea.
TBJ: Can you discuss benefits that a company would gain from locating an operation in close proximity to the North Baltimore terminal? Are there any issues concerning this area of the terminal’s development that you wish to discuss?
PH: Companies with logistics needs will realize a number of savings by locating near the northwest Ohio facility. Intermodal users will avoid crosstown drayage costs in Chicago; experience shorter, faster drayage to the Ohio Valley; get a network with much better reliability and speed to and from the west coast; and have excellent market access to the CSX Intermodal network in the east.
Significant investments have been made in the facility and in the rail routes serving the facility. Other successful related developments I have seen elsewhere around the country have included multi-lane arterials and good interstate access. It will be important for the region to protect that connectivity as we grow together.