OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific will shift intermodal traffic from its Global 1 terminal in Chicago to the expanded Global 2 terminal in Northlake, Ill., effective June 19, the railroad said in a customer advisory on Monday.
UP has invested more than $150 million in the expansion and upgrade of Global 2. Lift capacity has been increased 95%; paved parking by 160%; ramp staffing by 20%; and production tracks by 80%.
The terminal features six new cranes, including three hybrid battery-electric models. Global 2’s automated outgate has been expanded. In addition, outgates capable of using the UPGo app have been increased 50%, while ingate capability is up 33%.
UP also will go live with its Precision Gate Technology system prior to consolidation. The system works with the UPGo app to “fast gate” by allowing drivers to bypass the kiosk upon entering intermodal terminals. Using advanced machine vision, PGT scans equipment and automatically begins the in-gate process and matches it to a UPGo event.
“We are confident that the advantages of this consolidation will result in a positive customer experience through efficiency in drayage management, balance of assets, and simplicity in logistics planning,” the advisory says.
The shift to Global 2 affects traffic moving between Chicago and Denver and Chicago and City of Industry, Calif. The Global 1 facility is less than 4 miles from downtown Chicago on the city’s Near West Side and about a 16-mile drive east of Global 2, much of that on heavily congested Interstate 290. Global 2 is adjacent to the railroad’s Proviso Yard.
It needs work for better access to either the TriState or the Eisenhower. Otherwise a very good location if the road access is improved.
“Intermodal” is a euphemism for truck traffic on the I-System. Take a look out the window when riding the Hiawatha. Plenty of Amazon warehuses and U-Line plants (which make the boxes Amazon ships with), all fed by trucks on IH-94. CPKC doesn’t serve any of them.
Unless they have improved the roadways in the area from when I worked there it may help rail operations but it will still be a nightmare for truckers.
Global 1 is somewhat obsolete. It was doing a small amount of transload.
It was the merging of the CNW Wood Street “Potato” Yard and the B&O CT Robey Yard. It is where CNW brought in potatoes and produce from all over the country and brokers would come in and make bulk purchases.
B&O CT would store all of their passenger cars (inc. Lincoln and Pulaski Yard) nearby and engines here to service Grand Central (no longer with us) and had a shop and turntable there at one time.
The Illinois Central would bring in the bananas and the Santa Fe brought in the grapes. The trucks would pull right up to the reefers to complete the sale.
Global 1 shut down operations in January 2021. Last I heard UP was selling off parcels on Western Avenue to big box retail like Costco. Seems big box “warehouse” stores don’t have to remediate the polluted ground, they are allowed to build on top.
Perhaps someone close by can provide more details.
Global 1 was sht down in 2021? I take it those IG1LC and ILCG1 stack trains that I see come in and out of there every day and run anywhere from 8000 to 13000ft are figments of my imagination?
I think that Global 1 operations were scaled back substantially a few years ago – around the time they also closed Global 3, but it has still been making trains for a couple of locations until now. Global 4 has taken up most of the southern California business that used to flow out of Global 1 and 2.
This has been anticipated since UP shut down the Proviso hump yard a few years ago. Global 2 could finally expand after the Proviso hump shut down. Global 1, created at the site of the old C&NW Wood Street “Potato Yard” in the early days of the double stack business, is outdated and relatively cramped, etc..
More trucks on the I-294 Tollway.
Well Charles, that’s why the IL State Toll Highway Authority, who always seems to have a bottomless well of $$$, widened a 30-some miles of 294. I remember reading they said it was for the truckers more than auto traffic.
Is UP consolidating all traffic from Global 1 or just some of it?
It will be interesting to see how UP “manages” the consolidation of 2 intermodal terminals into one… they have quite a service quality track record, as we all know.