(Reuters circulated the following article on November 24.)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Canadian National Railway and Union Pacific Railroad struck a deal Wednesday to speed the interchange of freight traffic and ease congestion on their lines in Chicago.
The routing protocol will shift traffic they had been transferring at Chicago, North America’s largest rail hub, to three other interchange points: Memphis; Superior, Wis.; and Salem, Ill. The operational changes will be phased in over the next three months.
The deal is the latest in a series of arrangements Canadian National has made in recent weeks to share track or speed interchanges with rival lines, and comes as railroads across North America are struggling to handle increased demand.
The surge in volumes led to service disruptions this year for Union Pacific. Canadian National has not suffered to the same extent as Union Pacific, but officials of the railroad, based in Montreal, have acknowledged that their operations in Chicago have suffered from traffic congestion.