UP to launch direct domestic service between Southern California and Chicago

Union Pacific Railroad soon will expand to a new market in Chicago via a direct domestic intermodal service from Southern California.

Service between the Lance Fritz Inland Empire Intermodal Terminal in Fontana, California, and Global 2 in Northlake, Illinois, will be available to all domestic container shipments and will complement existing service between Global 4 in Joliet, Illinois, UP officials announced on the company's website.

Transit times for eastbound and westbound shipments will be about four to six days, depending on the contracted services.

The service will help meet more of customers’ needs, capture more over-the-road shipments and help reduce drayage costs in the Chicago area and in Southern California, with intermodal services closer to the first and final mile of a shipment, said Kari Kirchhoefer, UP’s senior vice president-premium.