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During its first year of operation, the ExpressRail Staten Island ship-to-rail facility handled more than 44,000 containers and removed about 70,000 trucks from local roads — figures that amount to a "banner year," according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ).

The $26 million facility, which opened in July 2007 and can process 100,000 containers annually, already has handled more than 34,000 containers in 2008, surpassing projections for the year. The number of containers handled monthly at the facility has jumped from 451 in July 2007 to more than 5,000 in June 2008.

"Putting cargo containers on trains means fewer trucks on the road, which is good news for drivers and good news for the environment," said PANYNJ Executive Director Chris Ward in a prepared statement.

The Staten Island facility features five tracks linked to the reactivated Staten Island Railroad. Containers are loaded onto rail cars and transported via the Staten Island Railroad to Conrail's mainline in Elizabeth, N.J.