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FORT
WORTH, Texas, October 23, 2000
-- The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF)
and Canadian National Railway Company (CN) today announced a
Service Agreement that provides agricultural products customers
with new seamless service using routes in Illinois and Iowa.
Under the agreement, which
took effect Sunday, Oct. 15, CN will provide haulage service for
BNSF between East Dubuque, Ill., and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and
BNSF will provide haulage service for CN between East Dubuque,
Peoria and Centralia, Ill.
For example, current and
potential customers in BNSF-served grain-producing areas will
have key benefits of single-line service to grain processors in
Eastern Iowa. Those same processors will likewise have access to
various destination markets served by BNSF using this new
seamless service offering.
For CN customers, the
agreement reduces round-trip miles on movements from the Iowa
market to grain and oilseed processing areas, Mississippi Valley
animal, aquaculture and poultry feeders and
the Gulf export market. In addition,
it will reduce transit times
and train volumes in the Chicago terminal area. CN Iowa unit
train programs can now move via Galesburg on BNSF instead of on
CN's longer route through the Chicago area.
"When we terminated the BNSF/CN
combination agreement, we said we would try to capture, to the
extent that they can be realized by separate entities, the
improvements and efficiencies that were identified as part of
the combination preparation," says Pete Rickershauser,
BNSF's vice president, Network Development. "This joint
effort between BNSF and CN was identified as a rail customer
benefit in studies related to the proposed combination.
Implementing this Service Agreement provides agricultural
commodity shippers and receivers throughout North America with
new competitive service offerings, and expanded opportunity and
market presence in the Iowa-Illinois markets."
Ed Harris, vice-president of CN's
Midwest division, said: "These haulage agreements are an
excellent example of CN and BNSF working together after they
unwound their combination plan. These agreements will allow CN
to increase car and train velocity and provide our customers
with new and improved service. More direct access to Decatur,
Ill., processors will improve cycle times significantly, as well
as cycle times for traffic destined to Mississippi and Gulf
markets."
BNSF operates one of the largest
rail networks in North America, with 33,500 route miles of track
covering 28 states and two Canadian provinces.
CN spans Canada and mid-America,
from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Gulf of Mexico,
serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal,
Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and key cities of
Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, St. Louis, and
Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America.
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