VOLUMES of refrigerated rail freight transported via the Pacific north-west to Chicago on the Cold Train intermodal service are expected to increase 300 per cent in 2011 compared to last year, according to Chris Mnichowski, owner and president of CTI Freight Systems that manages the non-stop, express service launched in April 2010.

    The forecast comes as eastbound Cold Train shipments of produce such as apples and potatoes doubled, and westbound shipments of cargo from Chicago to Washington state rose by several hundred per cent since the beginning of the year, reports Progressive Railroading from Wisconsin.

    The service that uses 53-foot refrigerated containers operates between the Port of Quincy in Washington and Chicago five days a week to transport fresh or frozen produce to the US Midwest pulled by double-stacked BNSF trains, it said. Transit time is four days.

    Cold Train's operators plan to commence service from Quincy and Chicago into south-eastern parts of the US later this year.

    "As the Cold Train service continues to grow, we plan on providing service to areas such as Atlanta and Florida, and then pivoting to north-east markets in the future, and eventually to the California market," Mr Mnichowski was quoted as saying.

(Source:http://www.schednet.com)