Rail Companies Launch Interline Co-Loading Service.
North American rail transportation companies, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern have announced that the two operators will partner in a new Automotive Interline Co-Loading Service.
The service will enable both Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern to take advantage of each other’s rail car capacity, as well as offering automotive manufacturers the option to ship multiple brand vehicles within a single rail car. The aim being to increase the speed of vehicle distribution as well as 
efficiency by allowing manufactures to group their vehicles together for transport, rather than having to wait for a complete car load of similar branded vehicles.
Commenting on the Interline Co-Loading Service, David Julian, the President for Automotive and Supply Chain Services at Norfolk Southern Railroad remarked that the end goal of the service was to offer an improved service for auto manufacturers. “Co-Loading will create the ability to ship vehicles sooner by generating rail car quantities of vehicles by combining smaller destination facility shipment,” he said.
Union Pacific Vice President and General Manager for Automotive Marketing and Sales, Julie Krehbiel also lauded the arrangement, saying that “Innovative collaboration like our Co-Loading Service allows us to be proactive in providing new solutions to serve our customers’ changing needs.” Krehbiel adding that “this new service significantly enhances efficiency in the vehicle distribution supply chain at the origin and destination.”
Both companies operate a vast network within the United States of America, and in of April this year, successfully demonstrated the Interline Co-Loading Service with a load of a Chrysler minivans and Ford F150s. The vehicles were first loaded at Norfolk Southern’s loading facility in Melvindale, Michigan, before travelling the 2,241 miles for unloading at Union Pacific’s Mira Loma facility in California.
Source: Norfolk Southern