The Ports of Indiana – the agency which controls and manages Indiana’s Ohio River and Lake Michigan ports – has announced that Gov. Mike Pence will provide the keynote address for the summit. As Indiana’s official freight transportation conference, this year’s discussions will feature emphasis on the new “non-stop, all-rail, West coast intermodal service”.
Brought about through a recent operating agreement between The Canadian National Railroad and The Indiana Rail Road, the new intermodal terminal located on South Senate Avenue will bring greater efficiency and lower costs to shippers wishing to import to, or export from, the Midwest. Tom Hoback, President and CEO of the Indiana Rail Road commented that, “The CN and Indiana Rail Road service offers a way for shippers to avoid the bottleneck of Chicago and the congested I-65 corridor to Central Indiana. this service provides a more reliable, consistent and environmentally friendly movement of goods that is less susceptible to costly weather and congestion delays”.
The economic and strategic advantages of this new development will be the focus of the summit which is scheduled for October 9-10 at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis. Other topics will include updates on the Panama and Suez Canal, the growth of the Prince Rupert Port in British Columbia, quantifying the value of faster intermodal service and many others.
The Indianapolis Industrial Center (IIC) is located a short three miles from the new intermodal port, and features rail service through three different rail carriers including the Indiana Rail Road, CSX and Norfolk-Southern. Offering nearly 180,000 square feet of warehousing space combined with six rail service spurs, the IIC is becoming a sought after location for rail reload and storage services.
Located at the cross-roads of America with easy access to the central Indiana interstate and rail system, the IIC supports the heavy-duty logistical needs of a wide range of industries including steel, construction materials, heavy machinery and raw materials storage.