GREEN BAY, Wis. — Schneider will launch intermodal service next month linking the Southeast with Texas and Mexico via CSX and Canadian Pacific Kansas City’s new Meridian & Bigbee corridor.
The first interline trains over the new route are scheduled to roll on Dec. 1, CSX officials have said.
“This represents a major leap forward in our industry combining the best-in-class service of two renowned railroads, and it will transform the intermodal landscape,” Jim Filter, Schneider’s group president of Transportation and Logistics, said in a statement today. “Our customers can now enjoy unparalleled efficiency and reliability in their supply chains.”
The Surface Transportation Board last month approved CSX and CPKC’s proposal to acquire and operate their respective portions of the former Genesee & Wyoming short line. The route creates a new interchange at Myrtlewood, Ala., and is a shortcut over other CSX-CPKC gateways such as New Orleans, Memphis, and St. Louis.
The route provides competition for interline intermodal service offered by Norfolk Southern and CPKC customer J.B. Hunt, which also uses the Meridian Speedway between Meridian, Miss., and Shreveport, La.
“It’s one of the largest rail opportunities that we have out there in the network,” Filter said on Schneider’s earnings call last week. “It is competitive with truck but as we’ve been having discussions with customers, they’re excited to have an option that they can start to look at from an intermodal perspective.”
Schneider says the service will connect growing markets in Mexico and Texas with Florida and Georgia. Unlike truck transportation on this Southeast-Mexico cross-border route, intermodal service with CPKC provides a seamless, efficient border crossing, eliminating potential delays and exposure to freight loss, Schneider says.
“By leveraging the strengths of our combined networks, we are able to provide customers with unparalleled efficiency, reliability and security in their supply chains,” CSX Chief Commercial Officer Kevin Boone said in a statement. “This service strengthens our commitment to delivering sustainable, innovative transportation solutions that support the evolving needs of our customers.”
CPKC Chief Marketing Officer John Brooks said that “by providing more efficient options and routes for Schneider’s current and future customers, we are bringing new capacity to supply chains and taking trucks off the road. Our team is excited to create this truck-competitive service with Schneider and to expand on our shared success.”
CPKC officials say the railroad’s second single-track span over the Rio Grande at Laredo remains on schedule for completion by the end of the year.
