The press is reporting again, that the proposed on-dock rail line connecting the PortAMiami to inland transshipment facilities will begin in the fall.
This is the third time the critically important, federal and state funded freight train line through the heart of downtown Miami has been announced.
The rail line that was postponed last year until after the HEAT season concluded, was described again without any discussion of how many hundred freight cars it would take to move 20 foot containers by the thousands from the newly arrived Super Post Panamax ships that PortaMiami hopes to call every week beginning in 2015.
How long would a train be if the port needed to clear 1,000 containers a day, a typically small offload for a SuperPost Panamax ship? Fewer containers offloaded would make the call cost-inefficient.
Also, the announcement comes without discussion of the implications of an extremely heavy, slow, herky-jerky powerhouse trundling through Miami and right past several historic buildings including the historically valuable and elderly Miami News Building, now the Freedom Tower.
Federal law requires an Environmental and Historical Preservation study be conducted and submitted at any time federal funds are used to build something anew or alter the landscape, especially around ports.
The submission requires “aerial and ground-level color photographs (that) provide context and clarity for EHP reviewers. Photographs also allow reviewers to assess the environmental and historic resources on-site and in the area surrounding the proposed project.”
The question that will certainly be asked soon, if it was not already asked, is how much shaking a tall old building can take each day, or what can be done to mitigate the shaking earth and the shock from the sound of the moving train and its horns.
Anyway, here is the press sequence on the PortAMiami rail saga with a few of my comments along the way:
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2010
Port of Miami funded to rehab on-dock rail
Port of Miami Awarded $22 Million in Federal Funding
To Fast TRACK RESTORATION OF Rail FREIGHT Service
(MIAMI, October 15, 2010) – The U.S. Department of Transportation announced today that the Port of Miami is the recipient of a $22 million grant to restore and upgrade rail service between the Port and the Florida East Coast Rail Yard in Hialeah providing direct cargo access to the national rail system. The grant has been awarded under the federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery Discretionary program (TIGER II).
“The investment in on-port rail has the potential to provide a significant boost to the South Florida economy,” said Mayor Carlos Alvarez. “The Port of Miami is the second largest economic engine in Miami-Dade County and supports more than 176,000 jobs throughout the state—this project will enable the port to increase its cargo capacity delivering a powerful punch to the local economy.”
TIGER grants are part of the national economic stimulus program. The Port of Miami’s TIGER II application was among the nearly 1,000 submitted throughout the nation with applications from every state.
“This is tremendous news,” said Port of Miami Director Bill Johnson. “The Port of Miami’s award is one of only a handful of successful applications nationwide. The federal investment in our port recognizes Miami’s expanding role in international trade and the potential for greatly increasing our cargo business in coming years.”
Johnson said the rail project is one of three major infrastructure projects critical to the Port’s future success.
“The tunnel project is already underway. Now, the restoration of rail service to our port is officially a go,” Johnson said. “The third component is deepening our waters to -50 feet to accommodate the new generation of cargo vessels—our focus will now be securing the federal funding to make what we call the “Deep Dredge” a reality. These three projects position the Port of Miami to become an even greater player in the global marketplace.”
The TIGER grants are awarded on a competitive basis to projects that improve national, regional or metropolitan transportation facilities, reduce greenhouse-gas emissions or increase energy efficiency. The Port of Miami’s application was made in partnership with the Florida Department of Transportation and the Florida East Coast Railway.
Rail service linking the port with the Hialeah Rail was suspended in 2005, following damage to the rail bridge to the Port during Hurricane Wilma. Restoration of service is part of a comprehensive strategic plan that also includes a new highway tunnel under Biscayne Bay to the port and the dredging project to deepen the port harbor from the current 42-feet to 50-feet for the next generation of cargo vessels that will traverse an expanded Panama Canal beginning in 2014.
“The Port of Miami wants to thank members of the U.S. Congressional delegation for their support,” said Port Director Bill Johnson.
TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2012
Port of Miami freight-train system so important it can wait to end of Heat season
By Alfonso Chardy
achardy@ElNuevoHerald.com
Besides, it only cost $22 million and after Heat season, only downtown workers will be inconvenienced!
A new $22-million Port of Miami rail track for freight trains is nearly ready after nine months of construction, according to Florida East Coast Railway (FEC).
Husein Cumber, an FEC spokesman, told El Nuevo Herald during a recent tour of the project that the first train will run later this year, likely in the fourth quarter and well after basketball season ends at AmericanAirlines Arena, located next to the track at the seaport entrance.
“We will let the Miami Heat win their championship and will start after that,” said Cumber, jokingly.
FEC executives have been in close contact with arena and City of Miami officials so that the new service will have the least impact on downtown activity, mainly in the vicinity of the rail crossing next to the arena.
Cumber said there will be no train service before or after events in the arena to avoid further tying up traffic. Traffic congestion on roads around the arena increases significantly before and after events.
Initially the service would feature one train – one leaving the port with cargo and one coming back empty, said Cumber.
“We support the project, but raised concerns as to the possible impact on our stakeholders downtown,” said Javier Betancourt, deputy director of the Downtown Development Authority. “The FEC has been very good about keeping us advised on their plans and we understand the trains will be short and swift so as not to tie up traffic, particularly on Biscayne Boulevard.”
Trains will move at about 30 miles per hour and generally clear an intersection in roughly 90 seconds.
“We’re talking about a train that will go through the crossings in a typical traffic-light cycle,” said Cumber.
The 4.2-mile track runs from the port to a point near Northeast 79th Street where it connects with existing FEC tracks to Jacksonville and the Hialeah Railyard.
FEC’s main goal is to transport port cargo to Jacksonville where it can be loaded aboard trains from other railroads headed for various cities around the country. The amount and frequency of cargo eventually will dictate the trains’ schedules, said Cumber.
“So, a customer may say they want a container coming out of the Port of Miami in Atlanta or Memphis or Charlotte on a certain date at a certain time,” said Cumber. “And what we need to do is make sure the train leaves the Port of Miami in time to make a connection in Jacksonville in order to get that container to the end destination.”
Once FEC secures client commitments, Cumber said, it will draw up specific freight train itineraries.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/13/2747438/freight-train-system-to-start.html#storylink=cpy
May 22, 2013
CARGO INDUSTRY
PortMiami rail upgrade now on track
BY ALFONSO CHARDY
The digging of the PortMiami tunnel has ended. The dredging of the port’s cargo harbor is about to begin. What’s still pending is the third leg of the port’s modernization program: a rail line so trains can transport cargo directly from the seaport to other major U.S. cities.
That should begin to change within the next 45 days, PortMiami Director Bill Johnson said this week. That’s the schedule for starting delayed construction on the unfinished upgrade of the track within the port. Cargo trains likely will begin rolling on the track by October.
The port track upgrade is part of a broader $46.9 million project to refurbish the Florida East Coast Railway track in Miami. The track from just outside the port to 72nd Street was recently upgraded, connecting it to the existing FECR track to Jacksonville and the Hialeah Railyard.
The project is a partnership involving the port, FECR, the state and the federal government. Railway officials expressed satisfaction about the announcement.
“The Florida East Coast Railway is pleased to be granted the authority to award a contract for the design and permitting for the on-port rail at PortMiami,” said Robert Ledoux, FECR senior vice president. FECR is providing its expertise in rail construction management for this important on-port rail project, he said. Johnson said the notice to proceed likely will go out to FECR in late July.
The upgrade should have been finished months ago, but the project was delayed because of logistics related to tunnel excavation and shipping companies that were occupying the area where the track is to be rebuilt, Johnson said..
Modernization is aimed at making PortMiami the first port of call on the U.S. East Coast when giant freighters start using the Panama Canal once widening of the facility is completed in 2015.
Cargo trains are a key component of the port’s strategy because they will provide a direct link between the container ships that dock at the cargo harbor and cities to the north. The track runs north to Jacksonville, a major cargo distribution center that links up with rail lines serving Georgia, North Carolina, Illinois and Texas.
Dredging will deepen the cargo harbor to accommodate the larger container ships that will cross the canal once it’s widened.
The tunnel provides a direct link from the port to area expressways for cargo trucks, which currently have to meander through downtown streets to enter and exit the seaport.
Johnson said the contract for the upgrade was signed May 16 and construction is expected to start in 45 days, with completion by September.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/21/3409547/portmiami-rail-upgrade-now-on.html#storylink=cpy