Importance of Dual Class I Connections

Nearly one-third of all shippers today are served by only one railroad. These shippers cannot typically move to a facility on another railroad because of high relocation costs. Shippers captive to one railroad consistently voice concerns that they receive non-competitive prices for inconsistent freight service. A common strategy against this is to locate an industrial facility on a dual served shortline or regional railroad, allowing them to choose either Class I railroad for the long-haul. This strategy has been very successful for heavy rail users because it yields more competitive pricing, better service, and access to more rail origins and destinations.

1More Competitive Pricing: As you would expect, when there's competitition, the railroads bring their best offers to the table. Studies have shown that freight users served by multiple Class I carriers pay substantially less on their freight rates.

2Access to More Origins/Destinations: having immediate access to two or more Class I's offers you direct access to origins and destinations that are directly served by a particular Class I. A grain receiver on our shortline, for example, has connections to both CSX and NS. This means that they have direct access to all grain origins along either of these railroads. If our grain receiver only had connections to CSX, it would be much more difficult to source grain from an origin on NS.

3Better Freight Service: dual Class I connections allows more flexible routing options for shippers, which can improve cycle times and save shippers money. Shippers also experience the best pickup and delivery when they are located on a shortline. Customers on our railroad, for example, can have their railcars placed or switched onto their unloading track multiple times a day. Trying to accomplish this on a Class I is often difficult because of their customer density and congestion/capacity issues.