USA: BNSF Railway is to launch an intermodal service between Portland/Seattle and Dallas/Fort Worth on September 12 which it says will be two days faster than current offerings, and comparable in speed to single-driver road options. This is the first of several routes that BNSF intends to launch over the next year.
The first service is timed to coincide with the Pacific Northwest fruit harvest, so that apples and other produce can be shipped south at their peak freshness.
BNSF said leveraging underutilised capacity on the central section of its network would enable it to offer expedited service for customers who wish to have their shipments arrive in Dallas/Fort Worth on the morning of the fifth day. Northbound expedited services would arrive on the sixth morning, and standard services on the sixth day. Trains will run in each direction from Monday to Friday, and there is a refuelling option for refrigerated equipment.
‘We regularly work with our customers to identify and offer new and better transportation solutions to make their supply chains more effective’, said Katie Farmer, Group Vice-President, Consumer Products. ‘This new service checks all the right boxes for adding efficiency to the marketplace.’
