GPA has ordered eight BOXPORTERs.

The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) in the USA has started an expansion project to double the Port of Savannah's on-dock rail lift capacity to 1 million containers per year. As part of the Mason Mega Rail Terminal project, the GPA has ordered eight Konecranes BOXPORTER RMG cranes for the expanded intermodal container handling.

Delivery will occur in two stages - one in the second half of 2019 and the next in the second half of 2020.

Work on the GPA's Mason Mega Rail Terminal project in Savannah is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2020. This rail terminal will combine and expand upon the rail yards currently operated by CSX and Norfolk Southern railroads at GPA's Garden City Terminal.

The project will also increase the number of working tracks from eight to 18. The terminal will allow 10,000 ft. (3,000 m) trains to be loaded and unloaded with containers, rapidly increasing service to an arc of inland American markets from Memphis to Chicago.

"The Konecranes RMGs will play an integral role in our rail expansion, allowing the Port of Savannah to handle more containers by rail with greater efficiency than ever before," says GPA executive director Griff Lynch.

The Konecranes BOXPORTER RMGs on order will handle containers over double-stacked train carriages. They will serve trains over nine tracks, and load and unload trucks under the cantilever. They will be equipped with Konecranes' Active Load Control system, which eliminates container sway for maximum container handling productivity. The cranes will also be equipped with an Access Lane Safety System.

Jussi Sarpio, director, RMG cranes, Konecranes, says Georgia Ports Authority has been an important customer since the early 1990s. "This order is another vote of confidence in the productivity and reliability of our container cranes, which prove themselves in action at the Port of Savannah every day."