By Lubomir Cech
Formerly known as the Blue Ridge Connector, the $134 million facility provides a direct rail link to the Port of Savannah, targeting a regional market of more than 330 manufacturers across the poultry, heavy equipment, and forest products sectors.
The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) will officially open its newest inland rail terminal in Gainesville, Georgia, on May 4, 2026. The terminal will be served by Norfolk Southern five days a week. At full build-out, the site will have an annual capacity of 200,000 containers.
To accommodate the increased rail traffic, GPA invested $4.8 million in local infrastructure improvements completed in late 2025.
Despite the infrastructure expansion, GPA reported a slight cooling in cargo volumes. For the fiscal year to date (July 2025–February 2026), the Port of Savannah handled 3.73 million TEUs, a 0.2% decrease year-on-year. February volumes specifically saw a 7% drop. In Brunswick, Roll-on/Roll-off (RoRo) cargo fell by 11.4% to 504,535 units for the same period. GPA leadership expects this downward trend in volumes to persist through the final four months of the fiscal year.
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