Eastern Railroad Discussion > CSX in danger of losing the perishable traffic from UP?

Rumor spreading around that NS may be getting at least part of the perishable traffic that comes in from the west on UP. I believe UP now calls it "Cold Connect" and they are looking to increase the amount of potatoes it ships from Washington and Idaho.

Apparently the rumor started when NS, not CSX, was named in some article regarding movement of perishables to the east coast by rail.



Allen

Tough to see how NS gets to the warehouse in Rotterdam, NY. It's on the CSX Selkirk Branch, which does not connect well with NS' former D&H main nearby.

Likewise in NYC, where the Hunt's Point market is not served by NS.

Perhaps the UP produce would be shipped via refrigerated containers? Or refrigerated trailers? Doesn't have to be the entire produce traffic but just enough to get/sustain CSX attention?

NS are not Alter boys either. They have their Autorouter flair ups now and again. Do remember 9 horrible months, I believe in 2014, when the Lake Shore and Capitol were getting hit west of Toledo 4 - 8 hour delay each trip. It is not a Swiss watch operation in Indiana nor Alabama.

More is the fact that NS and CSX steal business from each other ALL the time. The sales force are not allowed to cultivate new business, so to earn their pay they just swipe business from the other road.

I found the article in question that started the rumor mill going. NS is mentioned toward the bottom:


http://www.capitalpress.com/Idaho/20170911/railroads-announce-improvements-to-cold-connect-train




Allen

Truckers might laugh at '8 or 9 day service'. Especially if they can double bottom 53ft reefer cons soon. Even in the dreaded PC days there was the 'Salad Bowl Express" that did West Coast origins; many of them, to Hunt's Pt NY in 6 days. It was on a TV special, probably on PBS. And with CSX now taking ARMN and Cryotrans reefers hundreds of miles out of route to go to cold distribution warehouses in MD and PA it may not last too long. As mentioned, many are not on NS. CSX did a good marketing job of developing this business (or was it UP?). But CSX under EHH may not care about it now.

JPB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Perhaps the UP produce would be shipped via
> refrigerated containers? Or refrigerated trailers?
> Doesn't have to be the entire produce traffic but
> just enough to get/sustain CSX attention?

Not likely. UP doesn't have an intermodal facility in eastern Oregon or eastern Washington, and UP has no intermodal facility in Idaho at all. So in eastern Oregon/Washington, the intermodal would have to be trucked across Oregon westbound to Portland OR first to be loaded on a train. In Idaho, the intermodal would have to be trucked down to Salt Lake City UT to be loaded on a train.

The main UP-CSX perishable train runs to Railex in Rotterdam, NY. As stated, this is on the CSX Selkirk Sub (Branch). Railex is now owned by UP, so the destination on CSX is OWNED by UP. The set ups at both the loading and unloading points (not sure if they have loops) are designed to quickly unload a unit train of reefers. As irrational as EHH is, I can't imagine he would walk away from this business. Very simple unit train traffic and zero yarding required by CSX. Get on the train in Chicago, run it, drop it in Rotterdam.

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> NS are not Alter boys either. They have their
> Autorouter flair ups now and again. Do remember 9
> horrible months, I believe in 2014, when the Lake
> Shore and Capitol were getting hit west of Toledo
> 4 - 8 hour delay each trip. It is not a Swiss
> watch operation in Indiana nor Alabama.


You can't blame that all on Autorouter, crude oil business was booming at the time and there wasn't enough manpower for it.