FROM THACKSIDE, today's double-stack in-termodal train presents an awesome picture of efficiency. Four hundred or more containers on the move, a 10,000-foot-long behemoth with perhaps a couple of the most modern diesels on the head end and another one or two buried deep in the train. How could a single truck and driver running down the highway possibly compete? Sometimes it can't, but sometimes it can. It all depends. A huge chunk of the intermodal business, almost 60%, is concerned with the movement of import and export cargo to and from our ports. For much of this business, the monster stack train is the ideal tool. A large mega-ship, carrying up to 10,000 containers, docks in Los Angeles. A good chunk of the cargo is destined for Chicago and points east, at least 2,100 miles distant. Lots of volume, moving from point A to point B, all at the same time. Further, having already spent weeks in transit, it's not particularly service sensitive. A perfect match.
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