Eastern Rails Keen on Intermodal

NAPLES, Fla. — Railroad executives for CSX Intermodal and Norfolk Southern Corp. told investors gathered for BT Alex. Brown’s annual transportation conference that they see numerous opportunities in the eastern United States to coax freight off the highways.

The two companies believe their division and acquisition of Conrail, scheduled for June 1, will allow them to capture more of the cargo now hauled by truckload carriers.

Intermodal rail has largely been an east-to-west operation, Thomas Finkbiner, vice president of intermodal for Norfolk Southern, said Feb. 12. However, most of the truckload business begins and ends east of the Mississippi River.

He called the separation between the two lanes a “Chinese wall.”

“That’s why you spend so much just to get a piece of Conrail,” Finkbiner said. “With the Chinese wall down, it creates a new opportunity to bring rail business to that part of the country.”

For the full story, see the Feb. 22 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.