The Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP) announced this week that its transcontinental railway, which links eight major ports in the United States and Canada, will now offer direct rail service between the cities of Vancouver and Detroit.
The company estimates the new arrangement could cut travel time from the West Coast to Detroit by as much as 48 hours compared to competitors. It is scheduled to operate seven days a week and will utilize a connection between CP’s transload facility in Vancouver and a live-lift operation in Portal, North Dakota.
“We’ve worked hard to reshape our footprint in the Vancouver area to improve efficiency and boost capacity for our customers,” John Brooks, CP senior vice president and chief marketing officer, said. “And now, with our live-lift operation in Portal, we can expedite service and truly exploit the strengths of our network to provide unparalleled service and value in the Vancouver-to-Detroit lane.”
Their operations in Detroit will now allow them to service both the ports of Montreal and Vancouver daily.
“Simply put, shorter transit times, a more fluid border crossing and near seamless movement through Chicago means not only lower costs but better, more consistent access to the right markets,” Hardy Pearson, senior vice president for the Midwest and Northeast for Hapag-Lloyd, said.
CP’s live lift operations in Portal allow them to lift single containers off trains for inspection by customs authorities. Previously, entire intermodal railcars of up to 15 containers had to be held up during inspections. Now, if customs only flags one car, the rest can still cross the border and complete their run without issue.