(The following article by Stacie Hamel was posted on the Omaha World-Herald website on August 4.)
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific Railroad is teaming with the Eastern railroad CSX Transportation on a coast-to-coast expedited train aimed at taking business away from trucks.
It isn’t the first time.
The 55-car train of new refrigerated boxcars will make the trip from Wallula, Wash., to Albany, N.Y., in 124 hours, U.P. said. “This schedule is pretty aggressive for it to be direct competition with the truck market through that corridor,” said U.P. spokesman Mark Davis.
The train will remain intact – including its locomotive – when it transfers to CSX tracks in Chicago, Davis said.
The train will transport mostly apples, he said, although the service might lead to other produce, such as pears, cherries, onions, asparagus, sweet corn and potatoes. Each boxcar will be capable of hauling four truckloads of produce.
In May 2004, U.P. discontinued a once-a-week expedited train dedicated to four-day United Parcel Service shipments. That service – also offered in conjunction with Jacksonville, Fla.-based CSX – was offered for less than a year before U.P. discontinued it, citing congestion and service delays.