UP said the service enhancement was made “in support of our customers’ growing needs for truck-competitive service between western U.S. markets and Chicago, the country's primary transportation interchange point. It gives customers access to Union Pacific’s extensive rail network, which is made possible in part by our significant capital investments, including a record $4.1 billion in 2014.”
The Portland-Chicago service, called Portland Premium, operates six days per week westbound and five days per week eastbound. The Northern California-Chicago service, called NorCal, connects Chicago and the Northern California region, utilizing UP’s Oakland and Lathrop intermodal ramps, and operates between five and seven days per week depending on direction and specific origin/destination points.
Intermodal customers utilizing these enhanced service lanes have access to EMP and UMAX equipment, the largest railroad-owned container fleet in North America. In addition, wholesale door-to-door transportation options are available via UP subsidiary Streamline.