FECR's intermodal volume spikes in first year of Port Everglades facility

Florida East Coast Railway (FECR) logged a 26 percent increase in intermodal volume over the past year since the railroad opened its intermodal container transfer facility (ICTF) adjacent to Port Everglades.

Under a public-private partnership, FECR built the facility on 43 acres provided by Broward County, Fla.'s Port Everglades. Opened in July 2014, the facility is used to transfer international intermodal containers arriving or departing by ship as well as domestic containers and trailers with cargo moving to and from South Florida, FECR officials said in a press release.

Prior to the facility's opening, such containers were transported by truck to off-port rail terminals in Fort Lauderdale and Hialeah, Fla.

The one-year milestone "validates the investment made by FECR, Port Everglades, the state of Florida and Broward County," said FECR President and Chief Executive Officer James Hertwig. "We look forward to continued growth at the ITCF as the port adds new docks and cranes, and expands its harbor with deeper and wider channels."

Cargo moves through the port to and from Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C., in two days, and Nashville and Memphis, Tenn., in three days. FECR's direct connection to Class I networks allows for service to 70 percent of the U.S. population within four days, FECR officials said.