The Florida East Coast Railway this week unveiled its new Intermodal Container Transfer Facility at Port Everglades, Fla.

The 43-acre facility increases FEC’s available intermodal capacity from 100,000 to 450,000 lifts a year and will improve the transfer of both domestic and international containers between ships and rail, according to Broward County officials. Currently, these containers must be drayed off-port to rail terminals such as the current 12-acre Andrews Avenue rail yard in Fort Lauderdale or to the Hialeah rail yard in Miami-Dade County.

The FEC ICTF will allow the FEC to build 9,000-foot unit trains within the facility without blocking any city streets, and will allow cargo to move through Port Everglades to or from Atlanta and Charlotte in two days, and Nashville and Memphis in three days. FEC’s connections to railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern allow for rail service to 70% of the U.S. population within four days.

The ICTF is expected to reduce congestion on interstate highways and local roadways because loading and offloading cargo will take place at the Port as opposed to offsite facilities. As a result, air emissions will be reduced by diverting an estimated 180,000 trucks from the roads by the year 2027, according to Broward County.

The project is a public-private partnership between FEC, Broward County and the state of Florida.

“The project will enhance the port's competitiveness and will provide savings on a per container basis by shifting cargo from truck to rail,” said Florida Department of Transportation Assistant Secretary Richard Biter.

The Florida East Coast Railway is a 351-mile freight rail line located along the east coast of Florida. It is the exclusive rail provider for Port Everglades, PortMiami and Port of Palm Beach, and connects to the national railroad network in Jacksonville, Fla., and provides carload and door-to-door intermodal services across North America.