The Performance of Seaport Clusters - RePub - Erasmus Universiteit ...

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Rail accessibility of the LMPC
The Performance of Seaport Clusters
Rail access is especially relevant in the container market. About 35% of all containers are
put on rail. All six 89 ‘class A railroads’ (railroads with a national network) offer train services
to or from New Orleans. However, due to the limited size of market, the port is not a priority
for these railroads. Thus, even though the railroads serve the LMPC, the quality of the rail
accessibility from the port to the hinterland is bad.
The New Orleans Public Belt Railroad plays a leading role in improving the quality of rail
services to and from the LMPC. This organization carries out local inter-terminal traffic
between the rail terminals and aims to improve the rail accessibility by offering a ‘one stop
shop service’ for the railroads 90 . The railroads encourage this ambition, since their
competence is operating long distance trains, not local operations. When the Public Belt
Railroad would become a regional communication and dispatch center, providing
information to the railroads, creating complete trains for the railroads and managing the train
movements in the region, the rail accessibility of the LMPC would improve.
The Public Belt recently took over the management of the rail terminals of two of the six
railroads. They aim to take over the yard activities from the other railroads as well. In order
to realize its ambition, the Public Belt needs the support of other organizations in the
hinterland access regime.
Containers on barges
The transport of containers by barges has to date not been successful, at least partially
because cooperation to create sufficient cargo and investment funds is lacking. Firms have
tried to set up services, but the coordinated development of a ‘container on barges system’
is required. Firms have tried to set up one piece of such a system but lacked sufficient scale.
Coordination to introduce containers on barges is still limited.
89 Shortly after the case study, a merger between two railroads was announced; once this merger
is completed there are five ‘class A railroads’.
90 An important strategic asset of the organization is the rail bridge over the Mississippi. The public
belt is in charge of all flows over this bridge. The bridge is one of the three bridges over the
Mississippi South of Chicago. Therefore, large volumes of transit cargo cross the bridge.