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Union Pacific Railroad and Norfolk Southern Railway have launched a westbound intermodal service that shaves a day off transit time between the Southeast and Los Angeles. The Class Is began offering faster eastbound service between the points in May.

Westbound trains now use a shorter route over the Shreveport, La., gateway instead of a Memphis, Tenn., gateway, cutting about 130 miles off the trip to southern California.

The railroads will offer fourth-morning delivery for trailers and containers heading West on the BlueStreak — a joint UP/NS intermodal service — from Atlanta to L.A.; fifth-morning delivery between Charlotte, N.C., and Jacksonville, Fla., and L.A.; and sixth-morning delivery between Miami and L.A. The Class Is plans to provide an "on time or free" guarantee on the traffic for a limited time.

"The investments made in this transcontinental route, including the Meridian Speedway, have created a high-speed, highly dependable intermodal gateway linking the Southwest to the Southeast," said Don Seale, NS' executive vice president and chief marketing officer, in a prepared statement.