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Rail News Home Union Pacific Railroad 10/26/2021 Rail News: Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad yesterday announced additional steps aimed at reducing the supply chain backlog and speeding up the flow of goods to and from the West Coast ports.To encourage weekend in-gates and reduce backlog at the ports, UP will run a pilot program through Dec. 31, offering a $60 per container refund to its ocean carrier customers for each container in-gated on Saturdays and Sundays at its near-port intermodal container transfer facility (ICTF) in Long Beach, California.The refund will apply to containers in-gated incremental to each customer's current 2021 weekend average, UP officials said in a press release.UP recently increased gate access to 24/7 at ICTF, adding 20 weekend hours and providing customers with greater opportunities to move freight in and out. The move supports the ports of Los Angeles’ and Long Beach’s recent move to 24/7 operations.The refund is another example of Class I's continued efforts to find creative solutions to ease supply chain congestion, company officials said. Other steps UP has taken include the reopening of its Global III terminal outside Chicago and its Englewood terminal in Houston, providing additional inland storage capacity. UP has also shuttled freight to less stressed terminals within the same metroplex to maximize freight availability for its customers.With the nationwide driver shortage being a key factor in the congestion, UP is leveraging technology with its UPGo app to decrease the time it takes a driver to drop off and pick up intermodal containers, and UP is utilizing subsidiary drayage capacity through its LOUP subsidiary to help shippers.

Rail News Home Kansas City Southern 10/26/2021 Rail News: Kansas City Southern
Kansas City Southern today announced a collaboration with Suministro Industriales Potosinos SA de CV (SIPSA) and TransDevelopment Group (TDG) to develop the Central Bajio Vehicle Distribution Center in Mexico, an origin and destination terminal for the shipment of finished vehicles.Strategically located on a KCS mainline and developed, owned and operated by SIPSA and TDG, the VDC will serve the rapidly-growing Bajio region and strong Mexico City area demand, KCS officials said in a press release.The Central Bajio VDC will have a capacity for up to 10,000 vehicles, unit train service and direct truck access to Mexico City, Guadalajara and the Bajio region. The terminal is located about 25 miles west of Queretaro, Mexico’s fastest growing city, along the KCS mainline between Monterrey and Lazaro Cardenas.It will be constructed adjacent to SIPSA’s Transload and Cross Dock Terminal — the highest-capacity terminal of its kind on the KCS network. The surrounding area is the largest center of automobile manufacturing in Mexico."Development of the Central Bajio VDC adds velocity, capacity and markets,” said Rodrigo Flores, KCS vice president of automotive and intermodal. “One goal is to speed the turnaround for multilevel rail cars making a round-trip between the U.S. and Mexico improving the availability of rail cars in the region. Unloading rail cars in the Bajio, near many of the assembly plants where empty rail cars are needed, adds capacity and reduces congestion."

Rail News Home Norfolk Southern Railway 10/25/2021 Rail News: Norfolk Southern Railway
NS filed the suit against the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers and two other unions that represent its employees. Photo – nscorp.com