EagleRail Container Logistics, Chittagong Port Authority Sign MoU

Chicago-based global container logistics company EagleRail Container Logistics has signed a Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), Chattogram, Bangladesh, to begin transforming and improving throughput on CPA’s port roads and gates, described as “overcrowded and gridlocked.”

EagleRail has developed what it describes as “the world’s first automated, 100% electric overhead container transportation solution, a patented and environmentally conscious system to increase port throughput and capacity. Its technology and infrastructure solution replaces the manual, dirty reliance on diesel trucks with a short-haul, suspended overhead container movement system that quickly lifts containers and shuttles them to local yards or intermodal transportation hubs, bypassing ground obstacles, including roadways and open water.”

With the MoU, EagleRail is under consideration for official inclusion into CPA’s Chittagong Master Plan for the new Bay Container Terminal (BCT) connecting it to the Karnaphuli River terminals (NCT, CCT, and GCB) and two expanded railheads that connect container rail traffic to Dhaka. EagleRail is also being considered as part of the master design for a new and expanded customs clearance operation, for all terminals, that will increase the number of containers that get scanned in-line, described as “an operational advantage of overhead light rail transportation.”

EagleRail is partnering with local infrastructure and technology consulting firm Cosmos Group, based in Dhaka and Chattogram, for this project.

EagleRail is also partnering with ZPMC, a global container crane, cargo handling equipment and offshore heavy-duty products manufacturing firm, to design and develop the automated lifting and shuttling system. EagleRail is also working closely with virtual (3D) conveyance-planning software developer FlexSim to demonstrate verifiable system elements for each installation, such as volume, route, track, and load station options to ultimately provide efficiency and financial data before design work is commenced.

EagleRail says its technology “is emission-free and has shown in studies to reduce CO and particulate matter pollution by up to 60%, compared to diesel trucks.”

In addition to the Bangladesh MoU, EagleRail also has an agreement in place in Gujarat, India, with many other system implementation discussions under way in Brazil, South Africa and China.”

“We  are honored that officials in Bangladesh have given the green light to investigate ways EagleRail can reduce crippling gridlock and  improve efficiencies between their existing and new terminals and intermodal connections,” said Mike Wychocki, CEO, EagleRail Container Logistics “The  gridlock of commerce occurring between ports and intermodal points can no longer be ignored, and that’s why authorities from 17 countries are in discussions with us to study potential port and rail throughput-improvement rates by bringing our patented solution  to their nations. Our system will transform port and intermodal connectivity around the world.”

“With  the continued growth in global trade, and ships now several times larger than their predecessors only a decade ago, ports constantly struggle to keep their yards unclogged and functioning properly,” said Ian Harris, Vice President Strategic Sales, COSCO Shipping Lines Inc. “The terminals need a higher velocity and higher flow technology than individual trucks or legacy on-dock rail, where availability is hampered by railcar imbalances or locomotive and power shortages. To maintain yard fluidity, it is essential to be able  to transport thousands of containers in and out of the terminals in the shortest time possible.”

“EagleRail’s innovative solution shall greatly help with sustaining Bangladesh’s continued  growth, through the highly efficient and accurate handling of cargo at Chittagong port, eventually benefiting a whole range of clients spanning from common consumers to service providers of the nation as a whole,” said Enayetullah Khan, Founder and Chairman, Cosmos Group.

Founded in 2015, EagleRail Container Logistics describes itself as “a disruptive innovator providing alternative container transportation solutions between container port terminals and intermodal operations around the world. The automated, overhead container transportation solution is emission-free and alleviates port congestion while reducing pollution and traffic in and around container terminals.” The EagleRail system has been demonstrated in more than 40 ports in 17 countries, is patented in the U.S., and is awaiting patent approvals in China, Brazil, South Africa, India and the European Union.

With its beginnings in the trading industry with shipping interests, the formation of Cosmos Group coincided with that of Bangladesh in 1971. In less than four decades, Cosmos has grown into a large conglomerate with a substantial presence in multiple sectors, namely oil  and gas, mining, telecommunications, instrumentation, shipping and logistics, media, manufacturing and trading. The company has been expanding globally.