Editor:
Re: Delta continues inland port push, Oct. 1
We all want to avoid Delta farmland being lost to a Deltaport intermodal terminal. What puzzles me is why anyone might want to build one ... either there or inland?
Cost competition drives the container shipping business. Ship owners, terminals and railroads must cut cost to secure business. Ships go to the closest terminal offering the lowest price for container delivery.
Terminals strive to move containers directly between ship and train or truck, avoiding storage when possible. Containers are trucked between B.C. destinations because it's less costly; the rest go by rail to and from mid and Eastern Canada and the U.S. Trains don't stop between origin and destination.
Terminal 2 proposed by Port Metro Vancouver includes intermodal facilities on its new offshore island. Containers would move directly between ship and truck or train. There is also container storage on the island if needed. CP and CN both have intermodal yards in the Vancouver area, though I doubt container trains stop there.
Would another intermodal yard in Ashcroft reduce the cost of moving containers? No one claims it would. Delta's consultants say: "This study does not assume that there is a standalone business case for an inland terminal. While the business case is an important consideration, the Corporation of Delta does not consider that it is the only requirement to justify an inland port. Community benefits in the face of higher truck congestion can also lead to support for the facility, and a shift in the status quo."
It seems the main reason for an inland terminal is moving Lower Mainland jobs to Ashcroft. CN and CP would be asked to park westbound trains and wait while Ashcroft replaced empty containers with ones containing lumber and wood pulp. They say it would only take an hour, but this is unproven and any benefit to the railroads is unclear.
Eastbound trains and trucks would apparently ignore an inland terminal.
If railroads agree to stop westbound trains and let Ashcroft shuffle containers, there will be fewer westbound trucks ... and truck drivers. No clear and persuasive business case is offered to benefit either PMV or the railroads, so why should they be interested?
Seems like a tough sell.
Ed Ries
