A container that leaves Seagirt by truck for Chicago rides 700 road miles. The same container can leave on a double-stack train from the railhead on the terminal. Until 2026 it could not. The Howard Street Tunnel under downtown Baltimore was too low for two containers stacked on one rail car, so Baltimore boxes went single-stack or went by truck. CSX raised the tunnel by 18 inches, cleared 21 other spots in Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania, and ran the first double-stack train in May 2026. The ribbon was cut on June 22, 2026.
Baltimore is the closest Atlantic port to the Midwest. With double-stack live, that distance now counts on rail as well as road. The Maryland Port Administration expects about 160,000 more containers a year through Seagirt as a result. Baltimore 3PL books that rail, and the drayage on both ends, from one desk.
How it runs at the Port of Baltimore
Seagirt is the container terminal at the Port of Baltimore. The CSX intermodal railhead sits on the terminal, close to the berth. An import container can move from the ship to a rail car without touching a public road. Dundalk Marine Terminal next door has Norfolk Southern direct and CSX by interchange, with more than eight miles of on-terminal track.
The inbound flow for a Midwest importer:
- The container discharges at Seagirt. Customs clearance is coordinated through our licensed customs broker partners.
- The box moves to the on-dock railhead, or a drayage partner moves it to a partner dock for transload into a domestic 53-foot rail box. See transloading.
- The train runs through the Howard Street Tunnel and west on CSX.
- A drayage partner at the destination ramp delivers to your dock.
Export flow runs the same route in reverse. Daily status by email tracks each box from ramp to ramp.
Rail or truck
Truck wins inside about 300 miles: Washington DC at 40 miles, Harrisburg 85, Philadelphia 105, Richmond 150, New York 195 and Pittsburgh 250. Rail starts to win at Cleveland (365), Columbus (420), Detroit (525) and Chicago (700). The crossover moves with fuel, with container weight and with the service schedule, so we price both and show you the numbers.
What the partner network brings
Baltimore 3PL does not own rail cars, trucks or a ramp. We book through intermodal partners and drayage carriers from a network we have curated for 50 years, and we stay accountable for the door-to-door result. One desk, every building. The desk gets the right partner for the lane.
That matters on rail because the hand-offs are where moves fail. A container that misses the cut-off waits for the next train. A box that arrives at the destination ramp with no driver assigned starts earning ramp storage. We book the rail, the chassis and the drayage at both ends as one move with one set of dates. Reach the desk at (419) 745-9492 or operations@sams3pl.com, Monday to Friday, 07:00 to 18:00 Eastern.
What it costs and what moves the price
Intermodal is quoted door to door: origin drayage, rail linehaul per container, destination drayage, fuel and chassis. The price moves with:
- Lane. Chicago, Columbus, Detroit and Cleveland each carry their own rail rate.
- Equipment. An ocean container on rail bills differently from a domestic 53-foot box. Transloading adds handling but can cut the linehaul.
- Weight. Heavy boxes limit stacking and can change the rate.
- Ramp dwell. Free time at the destination ramp is short. Days beyond it bill per day.
- Chassis. Pool or carrier chassis at each end.
- Service level. Priority trains cost more than standard service.
The Howard Street Tunnel landed-cost article walks through a Baltimore-to-Chicago example.
What changed in June 2026, in plain terms
Before the tunnel project, a Midwest importer who chose Baltimore accepted single-stack rail or a long truck move. Many chose a different port and a longer ocean leg to get double-stack rail. That trade-off is gone. The tunnel reopened in September 2025, the first revenue double-stack train ran in May 2026 and the ribbon-cutting was June 22, 2026. CSX now has full double-stack clearance from Baltimore to the Midwest.
For a shipper, the result is a shorter ocean leg into the closest Atlantic port to the Midwest, followed by rail at double-stack cost. The port page on the Howard Street Tunnel covers the project. The comparison article on Baltimore, Norfolk and New York for Midwest imports covers the choice of gateway.
From 2028 the Sparrows Point Container Terminal at Tradepoint Atlantic adds a second container gateway with its own on-dock rail. Rail from Baltimore will have two origins.
What to send for a quote
Email operations@sams3pl.com or use the quote form. We reply within one business day. Include:
- Container count per month and sizes
- Destination city and delivery address
- Gross weight per container
- Import or export, and the steamship line
- Whether the box can transload into a domestic container
- Required delivery date and any appointment rules at the dock
Questions shippers ask
01Do you run trains?
No. We book rail through intermodal partners on CSX and Norfolk Southern and we book the drayage at both ends. You get one quote for the door-to-door move.
02What changed in 2026?
CSX finished the Howard Street Tunnel project. Double-stack trains now run from the Seagirt railhead to the Midwest. The ribbon-cutting was June 22, 2026.
03Which cities does Baltimore rail serve well?
Chicago, Columbus, Cleveland, Detroit and Pittsburgh are the natural lanes. Baltimore is the closest Atlantic port to the Midwest by road, and now by double-stack rail.
04Can an ocean container go straight to rail?
Yes. The CSX railhead sits on the Seagirt terminal, so a box can move from ship to train without a street move. Some lines and lanes transload into domestic boxes first.
05Is rail slower than truck?
Usually by a day or two on long lanes. It is cheaper per container on those lanes and it is not subject to the tunnel detour.