FORT WORTH, Texas -- The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) and Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NS) today announced they have partnered to provide coast-to-coast, non-stop intermodal service for container loads of freight between California and the East Coast.

Effective immediately, eastbound and westbound service is available between:

West Coast Cities: Los Angeles, San Diego and San Bernardino, Calif.

East Coast Cities: Harrisburg, Morrisville, Bethlehem and Ameriport, Pa.; ERAIL, Dockside and Croxton, N.J.; Baltimore, Md.; and Norfolk, Va.

BNSF will provide service between Southern California and Chicago, while NS will provide service between Chicago and the East Coast.

"This new service reduces transcontinental transit times by at least a day for our customers," said Steve Branscum, group vice president, BNSF Consumer Products Business Unit. "This agreement not only improves transit times, but allows us to provide shippers with coast-to-coast service that is a competitive, cost-efficient alternative to over-the-road shipping."

"By offering a run-through service that eliminates Chicago cross-town truck transfers, this integrated rail service increases reliability between major markets in the Northeast and Southern California," said Mike McClellan, vice president, NS Intermodal Marketing. "It will provide a higher level of service quality to our existing customers and give highway shippers an excellent alternative."

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC - news), a Virginia-based holding company with headquarters in Norfolk, owns a major freight railroad, Norfolk Southern Railway Company, which operates approximately 21,800 miles of road in 22 states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario.

Headquartered in Fort Worth, BNSF (NYSE: BNI - news) operates one of the largest rail networks in North America, with 33,500 route miles of track covering 28 states and two Canadian provinces. BNSF moved more than 3.4 million containers and trailers in 2000 through its extensive network of more than 35 intermodal hubs, making it the largest intermodal rail carrier in the world.