Building of the Alabama Port Authority’s Montgomery Intermodal Container Switch Facility stays on schedule for an early 2027 opening, with web site grading and underground utility work accomplished and rail-infrastructure building now underway.
The $100 million, 272-acre terminal is being developed as an inland extension of the Port of Cell’s container gateway. It is going to join central Alabama producers, distributors and exporters with Cell by direct CSX (NASDAQ: CSX) rail service, making a rail various to truck drayage between the coast and the Montgomery market.
The Alabama Port Authority and Montgomery Regional Chamber of Commerce toured the development web site in January, lower than a yr after the challenge’s February 2025 groundbreaking. Port officers mentioned crews had accomplished grading and subsurface utility set up and have been constructing a brand new rail siding and a bridge over the CSX most important line.
“The Montgomery ICTF is a vital funding in Alabama’s provide chain infrastructure,” Alabama Port Authority Director and Chief Govt Doug Otto mentioned in the course of the web site go to, in response to the authority. The authority mentioned the terminal stays on monitor to start working in early 2027.
Rail-served extension of Cell
The challenge is designed as a container-transfer terminal quite than a traditional inland river port. Containers shifting by the Port of Cell could be carried by CSX rail to Montgomery, the place they could possibly be transferred between trains, vans and the terminal yard for regional supply or export consolidation.
Comparable hubs are in operation in South Carolina, Virginia, and the West Coast.
At full operation, the terminal is predicted to deal with as much as 60,000 container items yearly, or roughly 30,000 40-foot-equivalent containers. The power is deliberate to function 5 days per week, with every day categorical rail service between Cell and Montgomery.
The authority’s present plans name for greater than 25,000 toes of rail monitor, together with two 3,500-foot course of tracks, a 3,500-foot assist monitor and roughly 10,000 toes of lead monitor paralleling the prevailing CSX most important line. The power additionally will embrace container-storage area, truck entry, administration and upkeep buildings, and new entry and signalization enhancements close to U.S. 31.
The terminal is situated on authority-owned land close to Montgomery’s Interstate 65 and Interstate 85 corridors, a location supposed to serve the area’s auto, manufacturing and distribution base. The Federal Railroad Administration accomplished the challenge’s environmental evaluate in October 2024, clearing a key pre-construction step.
Gear and building milestones
The authority in September awarded Konecranes of Finland a contract to provide two rubber-tired gantry cranes for the terminal. The cranes will deal with container transfers between trains, vans and the storage yard and are scheduled for supply in late 2026.
Building contractor Ragnar Benson continues to work on stormwater drainage set up, subgrade stabilization, reinforced-concrete pavement preparation and siding-bridge work. Remaining main actions embrace pavement set up, monitor connections, lighting, markings and completion of the bridge and terminal buildings.
The challenge’s growth value has been described as $94 million in earlier bulletins and construction-industry reporting, whereas the port authority’s 2026 progress replace and different latest experiences put the full at $100 million. The challenge is funded largely by federal appropriations, in response to authority officers.
Regional logistics guess
The authority has positioned the terminal as a catalyst for growth in Montgomery’s Interstate Industrial Hall. The Montgomery Regional Chamber has mentioned the challenge has helped appeal to industrial curiosity to close by websites, though the long-term cargo base will finally rely upon shipper commitments, rail-service reliability and the competitiveness of the Cell-Montgomery intermodal lane.
Subscribe to BigRig’ Rail e-newsletter and get the most recent insights on rail freight proper in your inbox.
Learn extra articles by Editor right here.
Learn extra:
Regulators flip down requests for abstract denial of UP-NS merger
Union Pacific blasts rival railroads’ trackage rights requests
Rail freight slides in uncommon off-week
Norfolk Southern: New intermodal period about eradicating rail friction
Container delays by rail enhance at busiest U.S. ports
The submit New $100M inland rail terminal will deal with 60,000 TEUs a yr appeared first on BigRig.