BNSF, Ferromex to offer intermodal service between Chicago and Silao, Mexico

BNSF Railway Co. and Ferrocarril Mexicano S.A. de C.V. (Ferromex) have partnered to provide a new intermodal service between Chicago and Silao, Guanajuato, Mexico.

The two railroads unveiled the service yesterday during an event at Ferromex's expanded FXE Silao Intermodal Facility inside the Inland Port of Guanajuato in Silao, Guanajuato. The new service is scheduled to start May 27.

"Our partnership with Ferromex to launch this service from Chicago to Silao means that automakers and manufacturers in the U.S. and Mexico will now have direct access to the advantages of intermodal rail in the Bajio region," said BNSF Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Steve Bobb in a prepared statement. "This service offers Mexico’s fast-growing manufacturing sector in the Bajio region a simple way to reduce trucking costs and delays."

Trains carrying intermodal containers will interchange at El Paso, Texas, to and from Ferromex, which will operate the trains between the border crossing and Silao five days a week.

"Mexico is the United States’ third-largest trading partner with a yearly trade of just over $500 billion. This translates into 14,000 trucks crossing between our borders on a daily basis," said Ferromex CMO Fernando Lopez. "We created this intermodal train to serve such a market, delivering not only a consistent and reliable alternative, but a solid competitive advantage for North America as a region."

Advantages of the service, BNSF said, will include:
• Lower cost than over-the-road trucking and faster transit times in comparison to a single truck driver.
• A centrally located intermodal hub within 100 highway miles of the Bajio's major manufacturing centers of Leon, Irapuato, Celaya, Salamanca, Queretaro and Aguascalientes.
• Avoids highway congestion in the United States and Mexico.
• A 24/7 dedicated customer support team to track shipments from the in-gate in Mexico to out-gate in the United States.