The average freight speed, terminal to terminal in US is only 26.6 mph (42.8 km).
Yet I see many Asian and European containers west of Chicago.
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According to the AI search, movement of ships through the Panama Canal has been restricted due to low water. It has caused significant delays, which have increased shipping costs. How much is unknown. Panama is modernizing the canal. When it will be able to handle more ships is problematic.
The whole reason the Panama Railroad was upgraded was to serve as a container bridge for just this sort of low-water issue. Either the containers are removed to decrease draft for passage and then reloaded, or they are transshipped from a ship on the Pacific side to one with an Atlantic (or transatlantic) route or schedule.
The improved Tehuantepec railway was supposed to facilitate the latter sort of operation, not to connect to the North American âgeneral system of transportationâ for longer land bridging or mid-American destinations.
How much $$$$$$$$$$$$$ will a Transcon make BECAUSE of being a transcon, that they would not have earned in their various interline agreements with other carriers? What NEW business market will being a transcon tap, that cound not have been accessed before becoming the transcon?
Monopoly concerns with access being owned by one entity.
Perhaps better questions would be about time saved, if any; and increased efficiency, if any? If positive these could lead to serving customers better and increased profits.
One thing that gets totally overlooked in Import and Export business - The ocean Liners operate on their own schedules - generally weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. All the traffic the liner imports gets âdumpedâ off the ship as fast as possible. Some of the traffic will be for rail outbound and part of it will be for local drayage. Marine Terminals do not want âexcessâ traffic on their facilities waiting on the scheduled arrival of its vessel to be loaded. However, if an export shipment arrives at the terminal after the scheduled departure, it will have to be held for one week, two weeks or a month until the next scheduled sailing for the intended destination.
Arenât a lot of boxesâ contents broken down in LA and reassembled for shipment east?
I wouldnât get too caught up in the âcoast to coastâ deal anyway. Thatâs not really the point of the merger. The argument kinda comes down to if you are shipping something by rail, and it has to cross the Mississippi, it probably will have to be hauled by more than one railroad as things stand now. So itâs not just California to Pennsylvania, but Colorado to Indiana or Ohio to Wyoming. One railroad taking it the whole way is more efficient than two or three.
Not really. It still has to go through the mess known as Chicago.
It has been the dream of the Railway Barons to have such a railroad. The aim being to own and control all traffic on the rails. You could call it âegoâ.
As for the Panama Canal. No ship is allowed through until payment is made to transit the canal. You will see ships at anchor either side of the canal waiting for their company to pay the transit fee.
Waiting to pass through the canal adds cost and time to the journey.
When the canal was first built the U.S.A Government paid a considerable amount to build it. Because of that U.S. warships travelled the canal free of charge. I do not know if that agreement is still in place or not.
Get rid of interchange and turn it into a simple crew change, and the âmessâ cleans itself up on its own.
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Is there a simple route thru Chicago that allows this?
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Still plenty of junctions, etc. A train will never be competitive on this route. Google shows 211 miles and under 3.5 hours drive time.
I highly doubt the container rate is 12k east coast to west coast. If it was every OTR carrier in the USA would be lined up dragging containers across the USA in 3 days running team service in the truck.
Thatâs almost 4 bucks a mile. Even JB Hunt would be running his stuff at that rate back on the roads.
Yes.
The NS ex NYC line to 40th st, get on the NS CR&I line that flows into the ex PRR Panhandle that currently interchanges with UPâs ex CNW Geneva sub at Ogden Junction. Geneva sub west to the âNew Lineâ.
So we assume delays with railroads but not Chicago traffic?
Can it compete with something that requires absolute speed? Of course not, but there are few shipments that do. Costs will go down, and flexibility will improve.
You donât even need to change crews in Chicago anymore. The new railroad could easily start new pools, like Rochelle to Elkhart, and go through Chicago without even stopping.
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UP Geneva Sub, formerly CNW Galena Sub.
Sounds like that routing will improve times.
As CSX found out in Atlanta - using interchange routes between the multiple carriers CSX inherited in becoming CSX - they make for bad Main Track routes. Just because their is a route doesnât mean it can be made into a through route.