NS EXPANDS TRIPLE CROWN SERVICE TO MEXICO CITY

NS EXPANDS TRIPLE CROWN SERVICE TO MEXICO CITY    Norfolk Southern's Triple Crown Services Co. is expanding its RoadRailer intermodal service to Mexico City.
   Triple Crown will offer five-day-a-week service to and from Mexico City in a joint venture with TMM Logistics, a member of Grupo TMM, which is an owner of Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM) and Texas Mexican Railway Co. (Tex-Mex). It marks Triple Crown's first service agreement with a Mexican logistics provider, NS said.
   Dedicated trains hauling RoadRailer trailers will operate over NS lines to Kansas City, Mo., where they connect with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. BNSF will transport the trains to the Tex-Mex at Robstown, Texas, and Tex-Mex will handle them to Laredo, Texas, where they will be interchanged with TFM for final delivery to Mexico City.
   NS said the new service will eliminate border delays and provide one-invoice pricing, door-to-terminal cargo insurance and enhanced security en route. Trains carrying Triple Crown's RoadRailer trailers will not stop at the U.S./Mexico border for customs clearance. Instead, clearances will be handled at drop-off terminals in Mexico and the United States.
   The RoadRailer trailer system are equipped with independent air-ride gear for both rail and highway.
   Triple Crown, based in Fort Wayne, Ind., has provided truckload service since 1986.