OMAHA, Neb. and NORFOLK, Va., Jan. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Union Pacific Railroad and Norfolk Southern Railway announced today that on Feb. 19, they will launch a new intermodal train service that will add train capacity and expand intermodal rail service between Los Angeles and the Southeast.
This new sixth-morning product between Los Angeles and Atlanta will complement existing BlueStreak service, which offers the fastest fifth-morning intermodal delivery in this rapidly growing market. This new product will have the same outstanding service reliability record that NS and UP have demonstrated on the BlueStreak.
In conjunction with this service improvement, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern will increase train capacity and improve service between Union Pacific's Los Angeles terminals and Norfolk Southern-served terminals in Atlanta, Charlotte and Greensboro, N.C., Jacksonville, Fla., Savannah, Ga., Charleston, S.C., and Miami.
UP and NS also announced a significant reduction in transit time for their BlueStreak intermodal service between Los Angeles and Atlanta. Effective Feb. 19, availability in Atlanta will be fourth-evening instead of fifth-morning, a reduction of almost half a day.
In addition, as part of their commitment to further improvements in capacity, service quality and speed, UP and NS will begin shifting domestic and international traffic to a new, shorter route over the Shreveport, La., gateway as early as third-quarter 2007. This shift will begin with the completion of the first phase of improvements on the Meridian Speedway. NS and UP ran successful test trains in this corridor in December. In establishing this new route, UP and NS will eliminate almost 150 route miles from the current route, and remove freight from the Memphis gateway. UP and NS expect to improve both BlueStreak and standard transit times and service consistency as this shift occurs.
"These new services and product offerings will offer customers higher- quality shipping options in this rapidly growing corridor and build on the premier BlueStreak services that UP and NS have been running for more than five years," said Don Seale, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Norfolk Southern.
"These new services leverage the significant investments being made along this route by both UP and NS and, ultimately, will result in the shortest, most efficient rail route between Southern California and the Southeast," said Jack Koraleski, Union Pacific's executive vice president and chief marketing officer.
About Norfolk Southern
Norfolk Southern Corporation is one of the nation's premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates approximately 21,000 route miles in 22 states, the District of Columbia and Ontario, Canada, serving every major container port in the eastern United States and providing superior connections to western rail carriers. NS operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is North America's largest rail carrier of metals and automotive products.
About Union Pacific
Union Pacific Corporation owns one of America's leading transportation companies. Its principal operating company, Union Pacific Railroad, links 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country and serves the fastest-growing U.S. population centers. Union Pacific's diversified business mix includes Agricultural Products, Automotive, Chemicals, Energy, Industrial Products and Intermodal. The railroad offers competitive long-haul routes from all major West Coast and Gulf Coast ports to eastern gateways. Union Pacific connects with Canada's rail systems and is the only railroad serving all six major gateways to Mexico, making it North America's premier rail franchise.
