Norfolk Southern To Open Central Florida Intermodal Terminal, Offer Faster Chicago-Florida Service
NORFOLK**, VA.** – Norfolk Southern will open a new intermodal terminal in Titusville , Fla. , Feb. 16, that will provide shippers of containers and trailers with improved access to central Florida . Norfolk Southern also has established a new, faster route for intermodal traffic between Chicago and Jacksonville and Miami , Fla. , improving service by a full day.
The new terminal will enable Norfolk Southern to provide highly reliable, truck-competitive service between Titusville and Chicago , Atlanta and Los Angeles when combined with capacity and efficiency improvements along these routes. The terminal is strategically located near the Orlando and Tampa markets via the Bee-Line Expressway. Norfolk Southern serve
First, any marketing department that can get new, improved train service justified in this economy is doing a very good job. Second, any marketing department that can get a new intermodal terminal opened in this economy is doing a great job. NS seems to be the best in show when it comes to rail marketing.
I’m convinced that at least some of the railroads have gone too far in “rationalizing” and/or “simplifying” their intermodal networks. They’ve closed too many intermodal terminals in pursuit of their goals of eliminating pickups and set outs, simplifying blocking, etc. While this can make the railroad simpler to operate, it burdens intermodal movements with high trucking costs to reach distant intermodal terminals. These high costs will frequently make rail intermodal noncompetitive with over the road trucking.
I can hear it now:
Q: “If the shipper wants to use us so badly, why can’t he truck the load to/from Jacksonville?”
A: “Because that makes us noncompetivie cost wise. And the shipper doen’t ‘want to use us’. He/She wants to use the most cost effective method to move the freight. We’ve got to make ourselves that most cost effective method and make money doing it.”
Kudos also to the people at FEC/Rail America. They looked at dollars instead of miles in agreeing to open a Titusville terminal. That’s only a 150 mile haul for them. Some railroads wouldn’t even consider looking at an intermodal haul that short, even if it was part of a longer move. (I speak from recent experience involving moves of 275-500 miles that would have been interlined for further movement.)
First, any marketing department that can get new, improved train service justified in this economy is doing a very good job. Second, any marketing department that can get a new intermodal terminal opened in this economy is doing a great job. NS seems to be the best in show when it comes to rail marketing.
I’m convinced that at least some of the railroads have gone too far in “rationalizing” and/or “simplifying” their intermodal networks. They’ve closed too many intermodal terminals in pursuit of their goals of eliminating pickups and set outs, simplifying blocking, etc. While this can make the railroad simpler to operate, it burdens intermodal movements with high trucking costs to reach distant intermodal terminals. These high costs will frequently make rail intermodal noncompetitive with over the road trucking.
I can hear it now:
Q: “If the shipper wants to use us so badly, why can’t he truck the load to/from Jacksonville?”
A: “Because that makes us noncompetivie cost wise. And the shipper doen’t ‘want to use us’. He/She wants to use the most cost effective method to move the freight. We’ve got to make ourselves that most cost effective method and make money doing it.”
Kudos also to the people at FEC/Rail America. They looked at dollars instead of miles in agreeing to open a Titusville terminal. That’s only a 150 mile haul for them. Some railroads wouldn’t even consider looking at an intermodal haul that short, even if it was part of a longer move. (I speak from recent experience involving moves of 275-500 miles that would have been interlined for further movement.)
FEC figured out a way to make it work instead of figuring out a way to make the bothersom sh
The FEC pays NS to haul up to 60 trailers a day on NS train 209–350 miles–according to the article in the October 2007 Trains. The reverse move is on NS 210. Both moves are through Atlanta-Miami service, with some setouts. The FEC is interested in investing money in upgrading the GS&F–it currently is not up to the standard of the mains such as Washington-New Orleans or Memphis, Cincinnati-Macon, or Chattanooga-Birmingham. The FEC might also be interested in trackage rights to either Macon or Atlanta.
Samfp1943, don’t you evah let anybody in nawth Jawja heah you call Atlanta a “town!”
I didn’t reread the entire article, but I noted that the FEC does not operate a chain gang; unless you are on the extra board, you know when you are going to out next.
I left out the Atlanta operation because I felt it was a different animal. I was cheering the willingness of the NS and FEC to actually add intermodal terminals located near the customers inorder to develop more business.
But, on further review, it’s the same thing. Atlanta is simply the FEC finding a way to get an intermodal terminal close to the customers That they contract with the NS to do it is basically innovation.
I like the way NS and FEC work together on intermodal. I wish other railroads would do the same.