Union Pacific’s Speedy New Service Connects Southern California and Chicago

Union Pacific Railroad launched a new service for shipping goods between Southern California and the Chicago area that reduces travel time to just three days. The service, which started on April 28, operates daily routes from the City of Industry in California to the Global 2 terminal in Northlake, Illinois, close to Chicago.

“We are delivering the service we sold to our customers – and we’re now able to do it faster,” Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena said in a press release. “Our railroad offers 70-mph service, allowing us to compete for business while reducing greenhouse gas emissions up to 75% for our customers.”

The service aims to improve efficiency and speed, including quicker freight exchanges with other railroads for destinations in the Ohio Valley and the northeastern United States. The westbound service from Northlake back to Southern California will be treated as a premium service, enhancing the overall quality and reliability of the transportation.

Kenny Rocker, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Sales at Union Pacific, discussed the importance of the new service: “We are excited about this new product, which is part of our continuing effort to find new ways to meet our customers' needs while removing trucks off our nation's highways and providing a consistent, reliable product,” said Kenny Rocker, executive vice president-Marketing and Sales.”

“This new route is part of our continuing effort to find new ways to meet our customers' needs while removing trucks off our nation's highways and providing a consistent, reliable product,”

— Kenny Rocker

Union Pacific's broader strategy

This new route is part of a broader strategy by Union Pacific to enhance its freight services and connect more efficiently to key metropolitan areas across the U.S. The service from the Lance Fritz Inland Empire Intermodal Terminal in Fontana, California, to Northlake complements existing routes and aims to capitalize on market opportunities amidst a challenging freight environment.

Union Pacific is also expanding its services beyond the U.S. mainland. The company recently introduced on-dock service at Port Houston to facilitate the transfer of intermodal containers directly from ships to railcars. Through partnerships with Canadian National and Grupo México Transportes, it has launched Falcon Premium, a service that supports cross-border freight movement between Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. via Chicago.

Kari Kirchhoefer, Senior Vice President-Premium at Union Pacific, noted, “Connecting Chicago to the Inland Empire is another example of Union Pacific expanding its services to more markets to meet our customers’ needs and to help capture over-the-road shipments, easing congestion on our nation’s highways.”

This expansion not only strengthens Union Pacific's service offerings but also supports broader efforts to make freight transport more sustainable and efficient across North America.

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