FORT WORTH, Texas and MEXICO CITY — The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) and Ferrocarril Mexicano (Ferromex) today announced that they have partnered to move time- sensitive automotive parts between Honda’s production complex in Marysville, Ohio and Guadalajara, Mexico.
As part of this long-term agreement with Honda, BNSF and Ferromex have developed a complete door-to-door intermodal product for moving automotive parts, utilizing BNSF’s Mexi-Modal service.
“We developed Mexi-Modal last year so that we could offer customers like Honda seamless door-to-door transborder intermodal service,” said Ricci Gardner, vice president, BNSF Automotive. “This service has allowed Honda to benefit from the speed and efficiency of BNSF’s intermodal product, and take several truck loads a day off the road.”
“This new service, developed by BNSF and Ferromex, is a commitment to Honda and the automotive industries,” said Julio Maza, Ferromex Intermodal Vice President. “Our goal is to develop an efficient rail/highway integrated service, to support the transportation requirements of exporters and importers between Mexico and the United States, through our gateway in Ciudad Juarez. For example, Ferromex has improved our Intermodal terminals and acquired 250 53-foot WTP containers and 150 chassis.”
“By converting this freight to rail, we will be able to maintain our high level of service while also benefiting from the efficiencies intermodal rail service provides,” said Pedro Agena, Quality Assurance Manager, Honda.
Ferrocarril Mexicano (Ferromex) began operating on February 19, 1998, after obtaining concession from the Federal Government. With over 10,500 kilometers of track, Ferromex represents 80 percent of the coverage in the Mexican National Railway System, and serves more than 3,000 customers. Ferromex connects five major urban centers in the country, five key border cities with the United States, four seaports on the Pacific Ocean and two more on the Gulf of Mexico. Since February 1998, Ferromex has invested over $500 million as part of a five-year modernization program.
A subsidiary of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation, BNSF operates one of the largest railroad networks in North America, with 33,000 route miles covering 28 states and two Canadian provinces. BNSF is an industry leader in Web-enabling a wide variety of customer transactions at www.bnsf.com . The railway moves more intermodal traffic than any other rail system in the world, is America’s largest grain-hauling railroad, transports the mineral components of many of the products we depend on daily, and hauls enough coal to generate more than 10 percent of the electricity produced in the United States.