Source: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

On-Dock Rail Lifts, 1991-2011

The promotion of rail transport has been a priority to improve the efficiency of the port, especially at Port Elizabeth and Port Newark, which are the main container terminals. In 1991 a 35-acre (14 ha) ExpressRail terminal, built by the intermodal freight operator Maher Terminals (Port Elizabeth), opened. It enables direct doublestaking ship-to-rail and rail-to-ship transshipment capabilities, functions which grew from 43,000 containers handled in 1992 to above 420,000 in 2011. To expand on-dock rail capacity a new terminal with further improved truck and rail access opened in 2003, implying that all the main container facilities now have direct access to on-dock rail facilities. It was expected that the rail's share of intermodal movements would climb to 25-30 per cent of transshipped containers by 2010. However, as of 2008, this share was at 12.3%, implying that modal shift expectations have only attained half the goal. This lower than expected is in part attributed to the main hinterland of the port of New York, which is dominantly within the metropolitan area and the adjacent states, all of which effectively serviced by trucking.