Has anyone noticed that CN seems to be one of the few remaining intermodal providers hauling Trailer of Flat Car loads over relatively short distances. Their Memphis terminal has more relatively nearby city pairs offered than any other intermodal terminal that I know of. Further, they provide next day arrivals with total cuttoff to arrival times in the 18 hour range between Memphis and Chicago. http://www.skedz.com/scripts/list_schedule.asp?origin=MEM&dest=CHI&sort+by=cutoff
So here is the question. Why is CN able to do a better job on short haul intermodal than everyone else? Even the Chicago and New Jersey corridors do not have the dedicated service to cities in between. Is the answer in the unique location of Memphis as a terminal for other intermodal trains?
Not real sure what is going on here, but Memphis is a centrally located community that for years bulled itself as the ‘Distribution Center of the Mid-South’; a 500 mi circle with Memphis as the center puts many of the nation’s biggest metro areas[ Cincinnati,Charlotte,Charleston,WV., Atlanta, Dallas-Ft Worth, Houston, Austin,Chicago/Milwaukee, naming a few] within overnight reach, by truck and fast rail connections to the West can also be had, UP’s version of the Cotton Belt/SP ‘Blue Streak’ still is viable, as is the CN’s [ne-ex-IC] north-south main line, which crosses the KCS at Jackson, Ms. As well as BNSF towards Springfield, amd St Louis, Mo.
The biggest draw-back to short-haul intermodal was the drayage fees for P/D on each end of the haul. Fees for drayage in Chicago were at one time, brutal as well as in New Orleans. As a participant about 10/12 years ago in a project to move Memphis/New Orleans, and Memphis/Chicago trailers on the IC; it was a wonderful idea,and the IC did it well. The problem was we were using trailers tha
Well, I have always just given the IC/CN the credit for going after the business, but perhaps there is a deeper story. Is the line relatively unused by modern standards? I know at one point the City of New Orleans and the daily Memphis to New Orleans TOFC where the only trains using the Canton line before it was downgraded.
The crazy thing is that the Memphis to Atlanta schedule is for 50 hours over a shorter distance, but more hilly road BNSF to NS. There is a 65 hour Houston to Memphis schedule showing on SKEDZ all on UP over fairly flat land, but that distance is only a few miles longer than Memphis to Chicago.
How does CN do it? From the cutoff alone you lose an hour so the 18 hour carding is really impressive considering that only 16 some hours are scheduled travel. But then I wonder if the standards for TOFC are just set too low as even 16 hours is 35 mph.
So you where using non AAR M93? trailers with lifting pads on the side sill of the trailer? Seems like this has become the standard nowdays but with newer lifting equipmnet. Was the handling damage from movement over the road or damage to the trailer from lifting?
The IC always had pretty good intermodal (piggyback schedules) back in the 70’s. I think the Memphis - Chicago was just a natural fit. Good track and operating conditions allowed it to be done overnight. Five hundred miles is a mileage that fits really well, as under the proper conditions it will be “overnight” and also overnight for truckers. Thus, no real advantage to the trucks.
The Information on that website isn’t consistant. Look at the map at the top and it suggests that CP is the fastest handler of containers from MSP to Chicago, then look at the table and the only services shown are BNSF’s with transit times of 44 hours. Strange as CP runs a 6 day per week overnight train between the two cities while BNSF has to add them to a Seattle to Chicago service. Also CN is listed in the table as providing service between Toronto and Montreal, but not CP. CP runs a twice daily Expressway service between the two cities.
Good point, the information on SKEDZ is not entirely consistent. I suppose that a one-point access for intermodal schedules just does not exist.
I was taking a look at the NS service out of Memphis on their website and they show from the Memphis, TN terminal to Huntsville, AL, 215 miles, as taking 55 hours from Cutoff to Available. That is 4 MPH or 4.2MPH if two hours for loading comes off on each end. What has happened to intermodal? I suppose I am glad that they at least offer service but 4.2 MPH is just not acceptable. Why can CN do a good job and no one else out of Memphis?
Well, it seems the schedules have become slightly slower than posted on SKEDZ per this CN schedule http://www.cn.ca/productsservices/intermodal/PDF/Dom_RampGrid.pdf but Chicago is still first day AM which isn’t that bad. Why can the other roads out of Memphis not offer more first day AM arrival trains. Is the calculus essentially that with the drayage and transfer eating up so much time that an extra day really dosen’t make a difference. It would seem like the truckload TOFC carriers would want more.
Check out the Memphis to Toronto delivery…2nd AM. Not bad. Then check out the Memphis to Detroit - 4th AM.
Knowing a bit about the CN operations into and out of Chicago on the former Grand Truck side, they run a daily intermodal from Chicago (leaves around 7pm) to Halifax. Obviously the Memphis to Chicago is overnight and then the container is placed on the Halifax train and dropped in Toronto.
Detroit is a different situation. They have no intermodal from Chicago to detroit and place it on the rear of a Chicago - detroit train. It used to be train 448, but I dont know anymore.
Also, just how much Memphis to Detroit intermodal does CN really want. So, the price and service it so they dont get it.
Obviously the same for the Memphis - Huntsville.
The key for intermodal is getting on a great service lane.
The reason for the difference between the CN/IC service to Chicago and the NS service to Huntsville is in how the trailer is handled. On the CN train it is a Memphis to Chicago train, so the trailer is loaded and away it goes, in the NS case the train is a Los Angeles to Austell (Atlanta) train, if when the train gets to Memphis there is an empty spot the trailer gets loaded and away it goes and arrives very quickly, but if there isn’t a spot available it waits for the same train a day later, or even two days later, so long as it arrives by the guaranteed available time (or not).