DaimlerChrysler Canada partners with Canadian Pacific Railway on integrated transport system

DaimlerChrysler Canada is partnering with Canadian Pacific Railway’s Expressway service to create an integrated transportation system that the two companies say will reduce the number of trucks on Highway 401 by an average of 120 per day this summer.

Expressway’s truck/rail transportation system, a fast roll-on/roll-off trailer-on-train service, will allow shippers to bypass congested roads. Standard truck trailers are loaded onto specially built rail cars on scheduled train services operating between Detroit, Toronto, and Montreal, translating into 48,000 km per day of reduced highway usage.

“DaimlerChrysler is leading the way as the first auto manufacturer to take advantage of Expressway’s business and environmental benefits. Expressway is helping make DaimlerChrysler more competitive while reducing congestion on some of our busiest highways,” says Hugh MacDiarmid, executive vice president, commercial, for CPR.

“In the end, the team developed an integrated truck/rail infrastructure that is environmentally sensitive, aids in reducing congestion and improving safety on Ontario roadways, is cost-effective and addresses potential supply issues,” says Ed Sprock, director of logistics, DaimlerChrysler.

DaimlerChrysler completed its initial test phase in November 2000, with the result that there are 48 fewer trucks a day travelling Highway 401 between Detroit and Toronto, and 14 fewer between Montreal and Toronto. The next phase is ready for implementation with a third phase nearing the end of development.