Transporting containers from the port by road and rail
Image supplied courtesy of Port of Melbourne Corporation.
The unloaded containers must be cleared by Customs and there must be no
quarantine issues before the containers can be picked up and delivered
to their next destination. Sometimes the containers may need to be
loaded onto another ship but they are mostly picked up by railway
wagons or trucks and semi-trailers.
Trains and trucks arrive at the port. The drivers are directed to the
correct location. They consult a plan of the stored containers and locate the correct containers.
Forklifts remove the containers from the pile in the storage
area and place them on the semi-trailer or railway wagon. The corners
of the container can be locked down onto the rail wagon or truck.
They are then taken to warehouses where the cargo can be removed from
the containers. The unpacked boxes can be taken to the final
destination by smaller trucks, e.g. if the cargo is TVs or computers
they will be taken to the shop where they will be sold.