Express Lane

Fast, Fresh and Headed Your Way

Express Lane is an expedited, priority train service developed by Union Pacific and CSX Transportation to ship food products from California and the Pacific Northwest to various destinations across the eastern half of the United States - fast, fresh and on time. Since it was introduced in 2000, Express Lane has moved more than 11 million tons of product with a 98 percent on-time delivery track record from shipper to receiver.

Investment in Equipment

Union Pacific has the largest refrigerated boxcar fleet in the industry with 4,950 units. The fleet includes 1,500 64-foot refrigerated boxcars and 3,450 50-foot refrigerated boxcars. These refrigerated boxcars are more environmentally friendly than ever and are compliant with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) standards.

Express Lane Features

  • Substantial savings over truck, based on the economies of rail. One rail car has the loading capacity of up to four truckloads.
  • Access to more food shippers than any other railroad.
  • Expedited service to the largest consumer markets in the east via CSX Transportation.
  • Access to Union Pacific's extensive rail car fleet, including the largest number of refrigerated boxcars in the industry.
  • Availability of premium, value-added services, such as transit monitoring, shipment management and problem resolution.

Transit Times

Destination Markets  Transit Time from Idaho Transit Time from Washington/ Oregon   Transit Time from California
Chicago, IL  6 days  7 days  8 days
St. Louis, MO  6 days  7 days  8 days
New York, NY  9 days  11 days  12 days
Boston, MA  9 days  11 days  12 days
Pittsburgh, PA  10 days  12 days  13 days
Philadelphia, PA  11 days  13 days  14 days
Atlanta, GA  12 days  14 days  15 days
FL Destinations  15-17 days  15-17 days  15-17 days

Value-Added Services

Union Pacific Distribution Services (UPDS), a logistics subsidiary of Union Pacific, provides additional premium services to complement Express Lane services. The UPDS One Plus program extends the reach of the Union Pacific rail network by providing a complete, door-to-door solution across all major U.S. markets - even for customers with limited or no access to rail. 

Premium UPDS Services:
  • Dedicated One Plus transload network
  • Shipment releases
  • Shipment monitoring across networks 
  • Problem resolution
  • Data analysis/corrective actions
  • Equipment supply
  • Proactive shipment management
  • Load consolidation
  • Customized traffic reports
  • Warehousing

Getting Started

  • Looking for prices? You can find our established rates or request a price quote by visiting Price and Transit Time Inquiry.
  • Want to learn more about our rail equipment? View car type descriptions.
  • No access to rail service? The UPDS One Plus Program provides door-to-door, truck-rail transportation solutions for customers with limited or no access to rail.
  • To learn more about Express Lane, call a sales representative in one of our Express Lane regions:  
    Pacific Northwest 402-544-3720
    East Coast 908-213-1895 
    Upper Midwest  630-427-2358 
    Central California  916-789-6348 
    Lower Midwest  402-544-2009 
    UPDS  800-877-5633