Railfan Technology > Real railroad solution

I'm working on a solution for intermodal rairoads which would involve using short line railroads to begin and end the intermodal traffic.  Short line transload facilities would prestage the loads and they would be aggregated at the hub for the long haul.  We are currently creating the network to make it possible.  We are also currenty looking for investors.  Message me for more information.

Troll?

Isn't that what Hunt, Swift and Schneider do now? You may find shortlines spun off from class ones are not allowed to originate or terminate intermodal traffic on their lines for interchange. The class one lines want the customers to truck the traffic to the class one intermodal terminals for the line haul.

Good luck with your plan, though.

Usually the originating and terminating carriers get a bigger chunk of the cheese as well:)

Using CSX in Massachusetts as an example, I know there's a block of international containers off the P&W at Worcester MA every night and a block to the P&W every day as well. In my estimation, that adds perhaps 1-2 hours travel-time each way account interchanging the block of cars with the P&W and transport to/from their intermodal yard in Worcester. Thus, their cutoff times are earlier and availability times later than nearby CSX Intermodal. I suspect CSX really doesn't want that business as everything they handle these days is 53' containers and trailers. But they do want the load-transfer business as evidenced by their moving the Transflo terminal to somewhere near Framingham not too long ago.

On the other side of the coin, both the Grafton & Upton RR and the Pioneer Valley RR in Westfield (both in MA) make their money transloading and/or warehousing RR sourced freight. The only way they 'make it' is being price competitive with other options, including containers to/from Worcester & Springfield, Schneider Trucking, etc.