McKay TransCold Announces "TransCold Express" to Serve as a Dedicated, Refrigerated Train on BNSF Railway

McKay TransCold, a 3PL providing multi-modal logistics solutions, announces its flagship service – "TransCold Express" – will launch as a dedicated, refrigerated train offering a bi-directional service between the California Central Valley and the Midwest.

 

"Our network provides an ideal solution for perishable shippers to achieve superior supply chain performance because of BNSF’s commitment to service performance and reliability."

Inaugural service will start in first quarter of 2014, with McKay TransCold operating a dedicated 50-car unit train between Selma, CA, and Wilmington, IL. The service will move refrigerated and frozen consumer goods and produce by the carload, truckload or LTL via BNSF’s newly refurbished fleet of refrigerated box cars. Each refrigerated box car holds up to four truckloads. Trains will depart from each location starting at one train per week and grow to two days of service as the demand grows. The trains will operate on a reliable schedule with the first departures slated for Wednesdays from California and Illinois.

 

"We have worked closely with the BNSF team to craft a program that will fill a niche in current modes of transportation. It was important to bring a service to the market that added value and focused on overall supply chain solutions," said Randy McKay, CEO of McKay TransCold.

 

The expedited train service could not be more timely given current challenges in the trucking industry, such as new hours of service regulations. An added benefit of the service is that the train is 70 percent greener compared to trucks with one railcar equaling up to four truckloads. This important benefit measurably decreases companies’ carbon footprint.

 

"TransCold Express represents a new milestone in refrigerated train service on our network," said Dave Garin, BNSF group vice president, industrial products. "Our network provides an ideal solution for perishable shippers to achieve superior supply chain performance because of BNSF’s commitment to service performance and reliability." 

The Illinois location will provide competitive service to Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Kentucky and the East Coast, including Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, the Carolinas, and select Canadian markets including Toronto. The California location will serve all of California and Southern Nevada. Value added services of forward distribution, consolidation and redistribution will be offered at the hubs to enhance supply chain savings. 

McKay TransCold’s mission is to be the leading provider of refrigerated logistics solutions, delivered safely and timely to meet customers’ needs. For more information, visit http://www.mckaytranscold.com/pr.