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CN and the Indiana Rail Road Co. (INRD) have forged an agreement to build an intermodal terminal in Indianapolis and jointly offer Indiana importers and exporters an all-rail option for moving containerized products to and from Asia.

The new facility is under construction near INRD's existing Senate Avenue Terminal in downtown Indianapolis. The intermodal terminal will begin receiving empty containers June 15; an on-site agricultural products containerized export loading facility will be in service about the same time, CN and INRD officials said in a joint statement. The first import train is expected to arrive in late June.

"This all-rail service will reduce transit times and improve transportation consistency for Indiana importers, making their supply chains more competitive," said Jean-Jacques Ruest, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for CN, which maintains service-level agreements with ports it serves in Prince Rupert and Vancouver, British Columbia.

The Class I estimates that through the new joint service, containerized import goods will flow in about 18 to 20 days from port loadings in Shanghai and Qingdao, China, and Busan, Korea, to INRD's Senate Avenue Terminal.

"Anyone who drives Interstate 65 between Indianapolis and Chicago knows what a bottleneck it is. [This] service will offer a more reliable, consistent and environmentally friendly movement of goods that is less susceptible to costly weather and congestion delays," said INRD President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Hoback.