BNSF Railway Company and CSX Corporation recently announced they have announced plans to create a high-volume intermodal rail corridor on lines that connect California, Atlanta and the southeast region of the United States.

The new service, which is expected to launch early next year, will be comprised of two daily intermodal trains between the west coast and the southeast in each direction, according to the carriers. Both BNSF and CSX maintain that corridor volume is expected to grow with the expansion of the west coast to the southeast intermodal market.

BNSF spokesman Richard Russack told Logistics Management that the driver behind this new corridor was to create a more efficient way serve shippers that want to move product into the southeast.

“The benefits [for shippers with the new intermodal corridor] are that we now will be moving train loads, as opposed to individual cars that you hand off,” said Russack. “And by doing this we are opening up new markets for certain shippers.”

The new corridor will replace and expand on an original agreement between BNSF and CSX that was established in 2001 and was slated to expire next year. The main difference between the old contract and the new one, said Russack, is that this agreement includes the ability to move two trains each day in each direction between the west coast and the southeast.

“It also enables us to allow for future capacity expansion along the corridor, beginning with two trains a day, and having the capacity to grow that,” said Russack.

When intermodal operations are underway on the new corridor, BNSF will extend capacity on rail lines connecting Avard, Okla., Memphis, Tenn., and Birmingham, Ala. And CSX will expand its rail line between Birmingham and Atlanta along with its intermodal terminal in Fairburn, Ga. As part of the capacity-related initiatives, the initial service on the corridor will largely be focused on sidings and terminal expansion.