KCS relaunches intermodal service between Louisiana port, Texas terminal

Kansas City Southern yesterday announced a new weekly intermodal service between the Port of New Orleans and Wylie, Texas, will begin in May.

The Class I previously offered intermodal service in the lane, but it was discontinued following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

"[We are] pleased to relaunch this intermodal service between New Orleans and the growing Dallas import market," said KCS Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Brian Hancock in a press release. "In our continuing quest to be the most customer-focused transportation provider in North America, KCS is providing options to our customers in both the U.S. and Mexico through port services and transit options for supply chains from Asia, Latin America and Europe."

In 2015, KCS opened the David L. Starling intermodal terminal in Wylie, which handles both domestic and international intermodal shipments. The terminal features an automated gate system with high-definition imagers, optical character recognition and biometric driver identification. By year's end, the facility — which also sports 1,500 parking spaces, 400 container stack spots and two 5,000-foot intermodal tracks — will have an annual lift capacity exceeding 342,000 units, KCS officials said.

The return of the KCS' weekly intermodal service helps the port capture greater market share and optimize throughput, said Brandy Christian, president and chief executive officer of the Port of New Orleans, and CEO of the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad Corp.

"This new intermodal service strengthens the port's position as a seamless freight gateway, and we look forward to growing business with KCS," she said.