More than likely, it is possible to build a system for moving containers from point A to B that doesn't pollute the air. The question is can it operate efficiently in a port environment where points A and B are busy docks and rail yards? If the answer is yes, the next question is whether such a system is economically feasible. The Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles are expected to get answers to both questions late next month.
That's when port staff plans to deliver the results of a year-long process of soliciting and reviewing "concepts and solutions" from companies interested in developing and running a "Zero Emissions Container Mover System." The concepts are the various technologies they propose. The solutions are how they expect to make a long-term go of it.
The Request For Concepts and Solutions represents the latest iteration of exploratory work the ports have done over the last four years to see if such a system, dubbed ZECMS, could become a reality. And, for the first time since the idea has been kicking around, staff is expected to recommend whether to pursue such a program.
If it does recommend going forward, staff also is expected to recommend a pre-qualification process for prospective bidders.
When the notion of a ZECMS first surfaced, the discussion focused on maglev systems. That prompted the Port of Los Angeles to hire General Atomics in 2006 to prepare a conceptual design study of a maglev system that would connect Terminal Island to the UP-run Intermodal Container Transfer Facility. The study pegged the implementation cost at $575 million for a 4.7-mile system.
The following year, the ports hired Cambridge Systematics and URS to survey potential technologies and assess their market readiness. Concluded in 2008, that study identified 13 potential vendors. Only one, TransRapid International-USA, had a system that was operational - a maglev passenger train in Shanghai. Two others - General Atomics and American Maglev Technology - had maglev test tracks. The remaining 10 respondents had only technology concepts.
Arguably, the concepts and solutions effort represents the most thorough investigation to date of whether a ZECMS connecting the Los Angeles-Long Beach harbor to the ICTF is feasible. The process cast a wide net in search of all possible technologies. Unlike the prior studies, respondents had to furnish enough information to convince the ports that it makes sense to issue a subsequent Request for Proposals.
The Request for Concepts and Solutions also specified that there won't be any subsidies, so respondents were required to address long-term financial plans for remaining self-supporting and operationally reliable. Respondents also were told to show that their business could compete with trucking.
The ports initiated the effort after American Maglev came to them in early 2008 and offeredto build a $4.4 billion maglev system first connecting the ports to the ICTF and then extending to the City of Bell, the Inland Empire and the High Desert. American Maglev proposed to do this with its own money.
The economic downturn did not discourage interest. The ports heard from 11 companies, seven of which met the test to be evaluated. However, the recession did impact the process in that it prompted the ports to take a closer look at the proposals in terms of whether a given system could survive the economic ups and downs that affect cargo volumes.
Proposals came from American Maglev, Bombardier, Flight Rail Corp., Freight Shuttle Partners, Innovative Transportation Systems Corp. in partnership with General Atomics, Magna Force, Inc., and Tetra Tech, Inc. The Port of Long Beach is the lead agency handling the RFCS working with the Port of Los Angeles and the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority. USC's Keston Institute is evaluating the proposed technologies and their long-term business prospects for the ports and the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority.
To date, the ports have spent more than $1 million exploring the ZECMS concept.
-- The Cunningham Report
