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The Staten Island Railroad is back in the intermodal business. Yesterday, the railroad carried containers off-loaded from ships at Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island, N.Y., launching the terminal’s ship-to-rail cargo transfer facility. The containers will move via rail to Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, Detroit and Chicago.

The new $26 million Howland Hook ExpressRail facility can handle up to 100,000 containers annually and features five tracks linked to the railroad, which will move containers to Conrail’s mainline in Elizabeth, N.J.

In April, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) and New York City Economic Development Corp. reopened the eight-mile railroad, which had been closed since 1991. The agencies spent $75 million to provide direct rail access to the Howland Hook terminal and other Staten Island businesses, and entered into an agreement with CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway and Conrail to provide rail services to Staten Island.

Reactivating the railroad and opening the ExpressRail facility will remove up to 100,000 trucks a year from the Goethals Bridge and area roads, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which manages the railroad and facility.

“Adding rail cargo capacity to Howland Hook allows us to square a circle — growing our port while helping the environment,” said PANYNJ Executive Director Anthony Shorris in a prepared statement.