How is loading/unloading accomplished in the least amount of time? Do several cranes work simultaneously? I would assume so as a 200 container train with only one crane operating and two minutes per container would require almost 7 hours to load/unload.
Here at LPCHI I have seen them unload and reload a 115 tub train in as little as 3 hours with 3 to 4 cranes , but generally it will take 2 to 2 1/2 hours to unload a train with 1 to 2 cranes and about the same and about the same to reload if all the loads are in the yard .
Wow…that’s really fast…they must have it down to a science. Do containers go direct from the train to a waiting truck/ship or is their an intermediate step whereby containers are placed in a holding area for pickup later?
They do have it to a science . If the loads are Hot and the customer is waiting for it, the container will be picked up right away , but generally the loads are moved to a staging area for pick up later . The in bound loads also go to a staging area to be picked up by a hostler driver and brought track side for loading .
They do have it down to a science … the limiting factor is usually the draymen and drayage contractors.
I have seen an 8000 ton stack train come into Hobart in LA more than once and leave as a bare table move in less than 50 minutes to clear out for other trains piled up behind trying to get to the ramp.
That’s pretty amazing when you think about how trailers used to be backed onto flatcars circus style decades ago when piggyback service started.
Kevin
Both systems are used depending on the scheduled delivery time, capacity issues, etc… I know that some of the newest terminals on the West Coast have trackage that runs right to the dock so the cranes can pick the boxes off the ship and load them directly on to the well cars…