Port of Virginia Invests in New RMG Cranes

By ordering three Konecranes Rail-Mounted Gantry (RMG) cranes the Port of Virginia has ensured the next upcoming year will be a good one. As a long standing Konecranes customer with a fleet of 116 Konecranes Automated RMG cranes, the Norfolk International and Virginia International container terminals are setting themselves up for success, loading and unloading trains and terminal trucks to serve the customers in the Midwest and Ohio Valley. 

The new cranes will not have cabins, as they will be remotely operated from a control center. Lifting containers 1-over-2 high, handling double start trains, and standing with a lifting height of 12.2m (or 40 feet) a span of 23.5m (or 77 feet), and an outreach of 13m (or 42 feet 8 inches) these cranes are going to pack a punch when it comes to loading and unloading cargo. 

The construction for the terminal optimization project at Norfolk International Terminals began in January 2018 for a grand total of $452 million to increase the terminal’s capacity by 46% within the same footprint. Norfolk International Terminal is able to offer second-day double-stack service to inland markets with its direct on-dock rail access to Norfolk Southern’s Heartland Corridor. The terminal also gives access to CSX Intermodal, as expanding the rail services is a critical point in the port’s consumer base in the Midwest and Ohio Valley.

With this new order, the port continues investments in its terminals. RMGs, which when completed, will be able to handle more than 600,000 lifts annually, is part of the $80 million expansion of the Central Rail Yard at Norfolk International Terminals. The port is making a strong focus on customers and commitment in digitalization and technology, not to mention their work to make materials flow more efficiently with solutions that decarbonize the economy and advance circularity and safety. 

Here at Nelson, we will continue to keep an eye out on the changes at the Norfolk International Terminals and keep you up to date as things progress and change. We are looking forward to working with them in moving your cargo quickly and safely through these new changes coming up and welcome the port’s efforts to increase productivity. Through hard work and dedication to our customers we will work together to continue to bring you the best service out there.