FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway has launched a Shortline Select program designed to improve interchanges and service while deepening the commercial ties between the Class I and its short line connections.
The first participating short line is Genesee & Wyoming’s 339-mile Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway (AGR), which interchanges with BNSF at Armory, Miss.
“This new program is demonstrative of BNSF’s ongoing commitment to expanding and improving to meet our customers’ growing needs,” BNSF Chief Marketing Officer Tom Williams said in a statement today. “Through Shortline Select, we will collaborate closely with AGR to deliver a more streamlined supply chain with enhanced visibility on interchanges, while showcasing our shared commitment to delivering excellent service for our joint customers.”
Shortline Select aims to produce volume growth by improving service with participating short lines through enhanced communication, seamless shipment tracking, data transparency, and faster equipment turns with reduced dwell, BNSF says.
“Our collaboration with BNSF will improve service and generate multimodal solutions for those industries and demonstrates that short lines and Class I railroads alike are focused on growth for our customers and the communities we serve,” Mike Peters, G&W’s chief customer officer, said in a statement.
Norfolk Southern this year launched a similar program called the Short Line Performance Project, which has produced outsized carload traffic growth through improving interchange consistency and reliability.
But BNSF is going a step further by including AGR in its economic development and growth initiatives.
Transload providers on AGR may be included in BNSF’s Premier Transload Program, a network of more than 400 transloaders across the BNSF system. Select locations on AGR may be eligible for BNSF’s Certified Site designation, an inventory of available, rail-ready industrial sites that are pre-approved for development.
Shortline Select also will enable partner railroads to receive faster responses to customer interline rate requests.
BNSF says it looks forward to adding short lines to the program.
