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On June 28, CSX Intermodal plans to launch an upgrade to its electronic data interchange (EDI) billing system.

The system will verify all EDI shipping instructions received from customers and automatically notify them about any bill rejections. A "service verification edit" application will search for bills that don't match various service criteria, such as a valid rail origin and destination pair, correct interchange routing instructions to connecting carriers and equipment program compatibility.

If shipping instructions don't match all selected criteria, an automatic rejection notice and explanation of missing or incorrect data will be sent to customers via EDI.

To date, CSXI has converted more than 90 percent of all billing to electronic systems. The company plans to reach 100 percent electronic compliance in the near future.

In the meantime, CSXI also will enhance its manual billing system for bills received via mail or fax, or at a terminal gate. Each billing processor and all in-gate personnel will assist in verifying bills.

If tendered at a terminal, bills will be closely scrutinized by gate personnel. If shipping instructions are incomplete or request a service CSXI doesn't offer, the load will be rejected. If the load is accepted at the gate but later rejected by the billing department because a bill is incomplete, inaccurate or requests a service not offered by CSXI, personnel will contact the customer to either pick up the load or re-submit corrected shipping instructions.