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It isn’t the BlueStreak, but it’ll be nearly as fast. On Feb. 19, Union Pacific Railroad and Norfolk Southern Railway plan to launch a new expedited intermodal service between Los Angeles and Atlanta.

The sixth-morning delivery service will complement the BlueStreak, a fifth-morning expedited intermodal service UP and NS launched between L.A. and Atlanta in fall 2001. In conjunction with the new service, the Class Is will increase train capacity between UP’s L.A. terminals and NS-served terminals in Atlanta; Miami; Charlotte and Greensboro, N.C.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Savannah, Ga.; and Charleston, S.C.

The railroads also plan to provide faster BlueStreak deliveries. On Feb. 19, UP and NS will reduce the service’s transit time by 12 hours from fifth-morning to fourth-evening delivery.

In addition, the railroads will shift domestic and international traffic to a shorter Meridian Speedway route after NS completes the first phase of infrastructure improvements on the Meridian, Miss.-to-Shreveport, La., line in the third quarter. Last month, NS and UP ran test trains along the corridor, which is 150 miles shorter than the roads’ current intermodal route.