3 ms·
New Panamax ships can carry 13,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units. 13,000 * 20 ft = 260,000 ft = 49 miles. (You can stack containers on top of each other, so 25
by jrockway 3y ago
New Panamax ships can carry 13,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units. 13,000 * 20 ft = 260,000 ft = 49 miles. (You can stack containers on top of each other, so 25 miles. There also needs to be space between the containers on a train for the couplers, etc., though, so a real train would probably be longer than this.)
I am not sure how much the railway helps. There is already a railway across North America and it's still cheaper to go via Panama at this scale.
- yreg 3y ago24000 TEU ships don't fit into Panama canal.
- benj111 3y agoWell they didn't mention 24000 teu. Or are you saying they wouldn't be limited by panamax, so could theoretically lower costs on the shipping portion?
- readthenotes1 3y agoSounds like what they need is a conveyor belt
- geraldhh 3y agoterrific idea
- nunesvn 3y agowhy not a slingshot?
- savoytruffle 3y agoSome sort of a sideways space-elevator.
- m4rtink 3y agoSpace fountain working with containers! :)
- pseudostem 3y agoNot sure if GP meant the math for just the trains bit. There is an increase in handling, and everytime the container changes hands, it's going to cost (assuming dearly). First the ship has to berth (cost), unloaded using QC gantry (cost) onto an ITV (cost) where it gets stacked using a stacker/gantry (cost) in a yard (cost) and then unstacked using a stacker/gantry (cost) onto a truck/ITV (cost) which takes it to a stacker/gantry (cost) which then stacks it onto a train (cost). This is then probably going to be reversed on the other side of the train destination assuming it's a port.
- berkes 3y agoThe handling is an opportunity too, though. Now you can merge cargo from several ships, and split the cargo from one ship to several others. Rarely do all containers go in one large batch from just one port to another single one.
- jaystraw 3y agoi don't disagree, but were it that advantageous, there would be islands in the pacific where this happened