CSX-served inland port opens in Georgia

Yesterday, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal joined other state officials, port representatives, and business and civic leaders at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Chatsworth to officially open the Appalachian Regional Port (ARP).

Managed by the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) and served by CSX, the inland port facility will provide logistics services for customers in a four-state region and remove an estimated 50,000 trucks from local highways each year, GPA officials said in a press release. The ARP targets shippers in north Georgia, northeast Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky who seek a more efficient option to move cargo to and from the Port of Savannah, they said.

"The ARP is part of our Network Georgia initiative that brings services from the coast to communities around the state," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch.

Handling both import and export containers, CSX will provide service on a 388-mile direct route to and from the port's Garden City Terminal.

"CSX is proud to serve regional customers through the ARP, which will unlock new economic opportunities while lowering shipping costs," said Dean Piacente, the Class I's vice president of intermodal sales and marketing.

The ARP's new rail terminal features three electric rubber-tired gantry cranes designed to perform 100,000 container lifts per year.