MONTREAL and JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - CN and CSX announced a new intermodal service offering between CN’s greater Montreal and Southern Ontario areas, and the CSX-served ports of Philadelphia, New York, New Jersey and the New York City metropolitan area.

“Over the long term, the freight market will increasingly depend on demand driven by the consumer economy and the rail industry must create new intermodal services that can successfully rival the over the road options,” said JJ Ruest, president and chief executive officer at CN. “This interline service fits perfectly with our strategic focus on feeding our unique network through organic and inorganic growth opportunities, including extending our reach into new geographic markets.”

“This new intermodal offering aims to convert long-haul trucks to interline rail services,” explained Keith Reardon, senior vice-president of consumer product supply chain at CN. “Trains will run directly into the heart of the metropolitan markets of Toronto and Montreal via CN intermodal yards, making this partnership a natural opportunity for both railroads.”

“CSX is pleased to work with CN to deliver superior all-rail intermodal service into the Montreal and Toronto markets,” said Jim Foote, president and chief executive officer at CSX. “Answering a need expressed by our customers, this new service positions us to capture market share from trucks and increases capacity in these expedited lanes, as larger container ships call at the Port of Philadelphia and Port of New York and New Jersey.”

Mark Wallace, CSX executive vice president of sales and marketing said, “At CSX, we’re continually evaluating our network to increase efficiency and improve the quality of the service we offer to customers. Offering all-rail intermodal service from the East Coast to Montreal and Toronto aligns with our objectives for providing faster, more efficient service while positioning both CSX and CN for future growth.”

The intermodal service agreement will come into effect on October 7, 2019.