KCS restarting New Orleans-Dallas intermodal link

The weekly service was discontinued in 2005 following Hurricane Katrina.    Class I railway Kansas City Southern announced Wednesday it is relaunching intermodal service between the Port of New Orleans and Wylie, Texas, which is in the Dallas area.
   The weekly service will start in May.
   The previously offered intermodal service in this lane was discontinued in 2005 following Hurricane Katrina.
   A KCS spokesperson told American Shipper Thursday that various factors led the company to relaunch intermodal service between the Port of New Orleans and the Dallas market. The spokesperson said these factors include:
     • An increase in all-water services and capacity by the ocean carriers to the Gulf ports;
     • Growth of the Dallas import market;
     • The Gulf experiencing a polyethylene resin boom, which has created a need for alternative export routes;
     • And an increasing amount of shippers looking to diversify their supply chain portfolio.
   KCS released its first-quarter 2018 earnings results last week, posting a net income of $145 million for the quarter, a slight dip from last year’s first quarter, on record first quarter revenues of $639 million.