BNSF Launches Mexican Intermodal Service

July 1, 2001
The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Co (BNSF) has launched Mexi-Modal, an intermodal service that connects major markets in Mexico, the United

The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Co (BNSF) has launched Mexi-Modal, an intermodal service that connects major markets in Mexico, the United States, and Canada.

With Mexi-Modal, BNSF said it can coordinate the entire transborder shipping process, door-to-door, through cooperation with Canadian National Railway Co (CN), Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM), and several Mexican trucking companies. It is also designed to compete directly with pure trucking transborder services, said Richard Miller, assistant vice-president-BNSF Mexico business.

BNSF's Mexi-Modal service consists of three products. MidBridge mirrors how most transborder truck transportation into and out of Mexico is conducted, by allowing the purchase of products to occur at the “middle of the bridge” between Laredo TX and Mexico. It allows freight to be moved by rail in the United States and Canada and by truck in Mexico.

BNSF's Laredo service allows a customer to move full truckload freight from the United States or Canada by rail either to or from a designated warehouse in Laredo, enabling customers to store freight in Laredo for warehousing.

MexiStack, an all-rail service, allows the purchase of goods to occur at the US, Canadian, or Mexican origin or destination. North of the border the customer's freight is moved by BNSF or CN, and by TFM in Mexico.