Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 5, 1995 TAG: 9510050042
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The joint service, which has been operating since Sept. 4, was made possible by both railroads' completion of $17 million in overhead clearance projects along the route. Since May 15, the railroads had been operating single-high containers along the route.
Doublestacking the intermodal containers, which can be moved by ship, rail or truck, is intended to increase efficiency.
The railroads hope to capture some of the freight traffic that has been moving by truck between the Southeast and Northeast along Interstates 95 and 85.
The doublestack trains will bypass the Roanoke Valley, entering Virginia from the south at Danville and passing through Lynchburg on their way north.
NS Chairman David Goode said the savings created by the service will "allow manufacturers to expand their plants, increase output and employ a larger work force."
The service will have access to more than 3,000 new containers from EMP, a partnership of Norfolk Southern Corp., Conrail Corp. and Union Pacific Corp. Pricing for the service makes it competitive with the trucking industry, which, in fact, is expected to be one of the service's largest customers, NS said.
The improved clearances will also allow the use of multilevel automobile carriers on the line, NS said.
NS, based in Norfolk, operates 14,500 miles of freight railway in 20 midwestern and southeastern states and the province of Ontario, Canada, and has roughly 3,100 workers located in Roanoke. Conrail has an 11,700-mile rail network in 12 northeastern and midwestern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Quebec.
by CNB