Well, you cannot just give up and let the truckers haul the loads. Especially if you’ve got a greatly underutilized railroad, as CN does in Iowa.
You’ve got to overcome the “Class 1 Mindset” that will quickly concede Cedar Rapids to the truckers. Ed uses the “Class 1 Mindset” in his dismissal of the intermodal opportunities at Cedar Rapids (and nearby Waterloo). No shame in that. That’s just what the CN is doing.
300 miles Cedar Rapids to Chicago? Not worth the bother. That’s the current culture on the Class 1’s. That’s how they think.
I was pondering how to write a decent reply when my May 2015 issue of Trains arrived via email. In the emag is another excellent article by Fred Frailey (citing the aforementioned “Class 1 Mindset”). It’s about the success of intermodal on the Indiana Rail Road. The Indiana is being successful at 153 miles. Now, if the IRR can successfuly compete with trucks using IM service between Chicago and Indianapolis, just why can’t the CN offer a truck competitive service between Cedar Rapids/Waterloo and Chicago connections?
In fact, it may not be possible. But it’s something that certainly deserves good analysis and study. It’s not something that should be quickly dismissed becaus