Schneider rolls out new intermodal service at the BNSF Barstow, Calif. ramp

Green Bay, Wisconsin-based Schneider, a provider of truckload, intermodal and logistics services, said this week it has kicked off intermodal service offerings at the BNSF Barstow, California ramp, which is northeast of San Benardino, California and 150 miles from Las Vegas.

Schneider officials said that this new service offers shippers in the eastern region of Southern California, Las Vegas, and western Arizona with a cost-competitive transportation option to Chicago and markets in the Northeast. And the company added that this service to and from the Barstow ramp goes straight to Chicago five times a week, with a five-day transit time it said is cost and service competitive with truckload. Schneider’s intermodal network now provides intermodal service to more than 40 ramps in North America, with the BNSF Barstow ramp in the fold.

Jim Filter, senior vice president and general manager of Schneider’s Intermodal division, said that a main driver for this new service is because the BNSF ramp in San Bernardino has already been expanded and at times can be congested, adding that this additional ramp creates more capacity in Southern California.

As for the biggest shipper benefits of this new service, Filter pointed to more capacity in Southern California, as well as expanding the coverage area where intermodal is feasible.

“Previously, Schneider would have driven loads down to San Bernardino if the shipper was south of Barstow,” he said. “If the shipper was north or east of Barstow, the load likely would have moved over the road.”

From a competitive perspective for Schneider, the Schneider executive noted that shippers are able to consider more economical warehouses further away from Los Angeles and San Bernardino and still enjoy the benefits of intermodal transportation, coupled with how the benefits of intermodal have now expanded further east to include Las Vegas.