UP/NS expand intermodal

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Union Pacific And Norfolk Southern Expand Intermodal Service

Expansion Adds Train Capacity and Reduces Transit Times Between The Southwest and Southeast

Omaha, Neb. and Norfolk, Vir., January 22, 2007 – Union Pacific Railroad and Norfolk Southern Railway announced today that on Feb. 19, they will launch a new intermodal train service that will add train capacity and expand intermodal rail service between Los Angeles and the Southeast.

This new sixth-morning product between Los Angeles and Atlanta will complement existing BlueStreak service, which offers the fastest fifth-morning intermodal delivery in this rapidly growing market. This new product will have the same outstanding service reliability record that NS and UP have demonstrated on the BlueStreak.

In conjunction with this service improvement, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern will increase train capacity and improve service between Union Pacific’s Los Angeles terminals and Norfolk Southern-served terminals in Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., Greensboro, N.C., Jacksonville, Fla., Savannah, Ga., Charleston, S.C., and Miami.

UP and NS also announced a significant reduction in transit time for their BlueStreak intermodal service between Los Angeles and Atlanta. Effective Feb. 19, availability in Atlanta will be fourth-evening instead of fifth-morning, a reduction of almost half a day. 

In addition, as part of their commitment to further improvements in capacity, service quality and speed, UP and NS will begin shifting domestic and international traffic to a new, shorter route over the Shreveport, La., gateway as early as third-quarter 2007. This shift will begin with the completion of the first phase of improvements on the Meridian Speedway. NS and UP ran successful test trains in this corridor in December. In establishing this new route, UP and NS will eliminate almost 150 route miles from the current route, and remove freight from the Memphis gateway. UP and NS expect to improve both BlueStreak and standard transit times and service consistency as this shift occurs.

"These new services and product offerings will offer customers higher quality shipping options in this rapidly growing corridor and build on the premier BlueStreak services that UP and NS have been running for more than five years," said Don Seale, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Norfolk Southern.

"These new services leverage the significant investments being made along this route by both UP and NS and, ultimately, will result in the shortest, most efficient rail route between Southern California and the Southeast," said Jack Koraleski, Union Pacific’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer.

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Pardon my ignorance, but, um" BlueStreak?"  Isn't that the old SP term for a fast freight service that exhisted between Memphis and LA?  Was it even SP?  Was it even Memphis and LA?  So it sounds as if the name has been revived.  What route does it take on todays BlueStreak?  Questions, Questions.