YAKIMA, Wash. — Two railways have teamed up to offer guaranteed arrival times coast to coast — for a price — in hopes of persuading more shippers of perishable commodities to use rail service, the Associated Press reported.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and Norfolk Southern Railway Co. will start the program for temperature-controlled commodities leaving the Northwest for selected cities at points east on Dec. 1.
“We designed the program to attract shippers who have been reluctant to ship by rail in the past,” said Steve Branscum, a BNFS vice president.
Earlier this year, Norfolk Southern started a new, simpler operating program that has dramatically improved transit times, sometimes trimming as many as three days from a route, said Rudy Husband, a railroad spokesman.
That success helped lead to the new service assurance program, he said.
Under the program, shippers can purchase a delivery guarantee for $500. For each load of freight that does not reach its destination on time, the railway companies will reimburse shippers double their premium — $1,000.
Cities included in the program are Seattle, Tacoma, Pasco and Yakima; Chicago; Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio; Philadelphia; Charlotte, N.C., and Atlanta.
“Consistency and speed are critical for shippers moving temperature-controlled commodities,” Branscum said. “And as we’ve continued to meet our on-time goals in these lanes, we simply felt it was time to offer shippers an incentive to try rail.”