Cold Train Adds Containers, Destinations, Staff and Space to Keep Pace with Increasing Demand

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Sep 09, 2013, 08:53 ET

QUINCY, Wash., Sept. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- As a result of continued growth, Cold Train has recently expanded its Washington State based refrigerated container fleet to over 400 state-of-the-art Hyundai 53' containers while adding new destinations on the East Coast.

In fact, Cold Train is now delivering refrigerated cargo from Washington and Oregon to the following nineteen states: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and Florida. Additionally, Cold Train has begun regular express service from Washington and Oregon to Toronto, Ontario.

Cold Train departs both Quincy, Washington and Portland, Oregon six days a week and its door-to-door service takes approximately 4 to 5 days to the Midwest and about 6 to 7 days to the East Coast.

In early 2010, Rail Logistics launched the Cold Train Express Intermodal Service in partnership with Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and the Port of Quincy in Washington State. Since the Rail Logistics' Cold Train refrigerated expedited intermodal freight service was launched, it has grown rapidly in popularity with shippers in Washington State and the Midwest and East Coast, and shipments of Washington State fresh produce and frozen foods on the Cold Train continue to grow at a fast pace. More recently, Cold Train began a similar eastbound express intermodal service from Portland, Oregon which delivers to the same destinations and locations as it does from Quincy, Washington.

In addition to shipping Washington State and Oregon fresh produce and frozen foods eastbound to nineteen states and one province, Cold Train is also bringing frozen and refrigerated foods and some dry goods back from the Midwest and East Coast to Washington State and Oregon. In other words, Cold Train ships loaded or full containers both directions to maximize utilization of equipment, which helps to reduce costs and provide both an inbound and outbound service for shippers and receivers.

In 2010, Cold Train shipped approximately 100 containers of perishable commodities per month from Washington State to the Midwest. In 2011, the number of shipments increased to about 300 containers per month. In 2012, Cold Train was hauling more than 500 containers of fresh and frozen cargo per month. In 2013, Cold Train has been transporting nearly 700 containers per month of refrigerated products from Quincy, WA and Portland, OR and expects to hit 1000 shipments per month by the end of 2013, marking an important milestone in the development of the Washington State based service. "We continue to listen closely to our customers in Washington, Oregon, the Midwest and the East Coast as we've developed our service offering on the Cold Train. As a result, our volume has increased an order of magnitude in less than 4 years and we look forward to significant continued growth over the next 5 years," commented Cold Train CEO/President, Steve Lawson.

The continued growth in business has also resulted in Cold Train hiring more staff and adding more office space at its headquarters office in Overland Park, Kansas. According to Lawson, "We have a well-trained staff of young professionals representing more than 15 universities throughout the Midwest and Washington State. We are executing an internal plan of organic growth. We are proud to have recently promoted Wayne Pilkinton to CFO and April Withers to VP Operations. Both Wayne and April started with the company in staff accounting and operations positions. We have just completed the 2^nd expansion of our Overland Park, KS headquarters in 3 years and are beginning an expansion in our Quincy, Washington office, as well as opening a Chicago office earlier this year. Once the expansions are complete, we will be able to accommodate twice our current staff level."

Lawson adds that the success of the Cold Train Express Intermodal Service is because of the following:

Shippers and receivers are becoming very confident with the reliable, cost effective and fast service as we enter our 4th peak shipping season from Washington State.
With continued relatively high fuel prices, shippers and receivers are looking for more cost effective and competitive transportation choices, and to diversify their transportation portfolio while adding capacity that is less reliant on long haul trucks, which are becoming increasingly regulated.
Many shippers and receivers are looking to reduce their carbon footprint, and Cold Train provides a good option to do that.

To continue to raise awareness about the service and to reach new customers, Cold Train has stepped up its marketing efforts and recently participated in the Midwest Produce Council Expo. as well as the US Apple Outlook Conference in Chicago. Cold Train will also be exhibiting at the Produce Marketing Association Fresh Summit in New Orleans from October 18-20. Furthermore, Cold Train and Hyundai will be displaying a new Cold Train container at the IANA (Intermodal Association of North America) Expo. from November 17-19 in Houston.

For more information, please contact Steve Lawson of Cold Train at Email or 509-731-4734.