FORT WORTH, Texas -The RoadRailer intermodal system offered by Canadian National-and shipping specially designed highway trailers by rail-will now link Montreal and Toronto with California and Arizona, thanks to an agreement with Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway.

The agreement extends the service over 4,800 kilometres.

Burlington Northern’s Ice Cold Express service will, in turn, offer a link for fruits and vegetables from the region into Chicago, Toronto and Montreal over CN lines. The goods will then be taken onto roads with refrigerated versions of RoadRailer equipment (known as ReeferRailer).

“Shippers of retail products, food, beverages, automotive parts, packaging-anything that fits in a traditional dry highway trailer-will benefit from the new service between Central Canada and the Pacific Southwest,” said RoadRailer director Mark Lerner.

The railways will use a common terminal in Toronto.

“The demand in the Midwest and Eastern Canada for fresh produce from the Pacific Southwest is significant, especially during the winter months,” said Steve Branscum, group vice-president, BNSF Consumer Products. “Through this BNSF-CN partnership, we can now give growers and grocers access to new markets with a true truck-competitive transportation alternative.”

The system uses specially designed, 53-foot Wabash National RoadRailer trailers and bogies. n