Splash247: COSCO opens China’s first direct automated ship-to-rail terminal

Published by Splash247

COSCO Shipping Ports has commissioned China’s first dedicated sea-rail line running directly into an automated container terminal, allowing cargo to move between ships and trains without passing through an intermediate storage yard.

The 1,586 m railway entered service at CSP Xiamen Ocean Gate Terminal on July 29, when a train carrying 35 containers departed the facility.

Unlike conventional port railways positioned parallel to the waterfront or outside the terminal, the new line runs perpendicular to the shoreline and reaches within 70 m of the quay. Containers can be transferred directly between the terminal operating area and waiting trains, removing the truck or yard moves normally required between the two transport modes.

The facility has three parallel loading tracks capable of accommodating 40 rail wagons and four automated rail-mounted gantry cranes. Container numbers and train positions are identified automatically, with crane operations controlled remotely.

COSCO said the integration of the railway and terminal operating systems had reduced the transfer process to nine minutes. Removing intermediate handling is expected to cut customers’ total logistics costs per container by more than 15% and shorten end-to-end transit times by two to three days.

The line has designed annual capacity of 250,000 teu and 250,000 tonnes of breakbulk and general cargo.