Two pairs of Class Is have teamed up to help automakers share rail capacity to ship finished vehicles and intermodal shippers speed freight through the Chicago gateway. Union Pacific Railroad and Norfolk Southern Corp. partnered last month to launch an Automotive Interline Co-Loading Service, which allows vehicles from multiple automotive manufacturers to be combined within a single rail car. By combining small vehicle shipments, automakers can avoid having to wait to fill a rail car themselves, UP and NS said. On April 30, the two Class Is partnered to complete the industry's first automotive inter- line co-loading shipment. The railroads co-loaded Chrysler minivans and Ford F150s at NS' loading facility in Melvindale, Mich., and unloaded the vehicles 2,241 miles away at UP's Mira Loma, Calif., facility.
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