CP, G&W in Ohio intermodal pact

Written by Stuart Chirls, senior editor, Railway Age
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Canadian Pacific

Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) announced a new partnership with Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (GWI) and Bluegrass Farms of Ohio that will open up the Ohio Valley to CP intermodal customers and further extend its reach into key North American heartland markets.

The Calgary-based carrier said it has an exclusive agreement with Bluegrass Farms to use its 90-acre intermodal facility in Jeffersonville, Ohio, on the I-71 corridor, to serve the Columbus, Cincinnati and Dayton markets. The farm consortium will continue to own the facility, and will operate it on behalf of CP. At the same time, CP has also come to an agreement with GWI, which services the site through its Indiana & Ohio (IORY) line.

“Through strategic partnerships and innovative thinking, we are expanding our reach and increasing optionality for our customers,” said Keith Creel, CP president and chief executive. “This service allows our international intermodal customers to come through the Port of Vancouver and access markets deep in the Ohio Valley. The unique site also creates better round-trip economics for our customers by enabling the empty containers to be re-loaded with agriculture products and shipped back overseas.”

The Bluegrass facility can handle intermodal and bulk shipments, and transloading services of bulk agricultural products into containers. The secure site also features extensive container and trailer storage and room to expand, CP said.

“Our partnership with Canadian Pacific is an excellent example of how short line railroads can extend the reach of the Class 1 network,” said Jack Hellmann, GWI chairman, president and chief executive. “This intermodal terminal not only offers a new rail option to and from the Ohio Valley, but was purpose-built to provide backhaul opportunities that will enable customers to reduce overall transportation costs and enhance their competitive advantage.”

“We are excited to be working closely with CP and have always believed that this is the perfect site to not only reach into the Ohio Valley with imports, but to deliver high-quality, sustainable agricultural products back on the export side,” said Dave Martin, president of Bluegrass Farms of Ohio.

Bluegrass Farms is a soybean producer based in Jeffersonville, and is a subsidiary of Japan’s Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc.

Canadian Pacific sees the new service as the latest in a suite of options to better meet the needs of the marketplace; it also leverages its one-off live-lift operation at Portal, North Dakota and its daily service between Vancouver and Chicago.

The railroad is also expanding its Asia sales and marketing presence with key positions in China and Singapore.

“We are putting more dots on the map, expanding our reach and working with current and potential customers to sustainably grow our business and theirs,” Creel said.

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