Inter modal question

[loaders]

As a sceptical kind of fellow, slow to believe what I am being told, I need some info from the inter modal experts on this site. We do very little of this type of transport but we do have a couple of clients who are always chasing the cheapest option to ship their goods and in that case, inter modal can be the answer. We currently have an LTL shipment supposedly “stuck” in Sault Ste Marie. The carrier we are using claims the railroad has shortened the train due to extremely cold weather and guess what….the car our shipment has been left behind. I need to know…is this a load of hooey, or is there even a shred of truth to it? Thank you to all who wish to shed some light on this.

 

[Nawk]

This does happen.

In extreme cold... they will shorten the trains when they have trouble building up that much air.

But wait there's more...

Then when your car sits in SSM for a few days... and it finally becomes time to move it... guess what... it will be frozen and subject to more delays.

I was exposed to more intermodal than I wanted at a past employer and it was a PITA.

 

[loaders]

Thanks. That is basically what we are being told so I just wanted some confirmation. Hmmm……cold weather delays added to the glacial speed of inter modal. Even if it was free, I would still have to question the value of this means of transport.

 

[Shakey]

Yes, and they don't plan to shorten a train to recover; they have to have one that has room to stop and retrieve the cars. I've had one sit for a couple of weeks. Bad-order rail cars in the middle of the prairies or northern Ontario are another fun topic to explain to clients.

Rail on-times has improved, but they can't win against the cold; trains can't build up enough air to stop.