JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX and BNSF Railway recently completed the Florida National Guard’s largest rail deployment since World War II.
CSX originated 10 unit trains that carried 1,265 military vehicles, containers, and systems that were loaded at Fort Stewart, Ga., and transported to Birmingham, Ala., for interchange with BNSF, which then operated the trains to Fort Irwin, Calif.
The large-scale operation required close coordination between CSX and more than 179 Army personnel and marked the Florida National Guard’s first major rail deployment since 2008.
“This move was a testament to the power of teamwork,” Dan Labyak, CSX senior director of military clearance, said in a statement.
The equipment moved on 10 trains using four different types of specialized railcars, a solution developed by CSX’s Network Operations team to accommodate a wide variety of military gear. The CSX Government Waybilling team helped translate the Army’s commercial bills of lading into documents compatible with CSX systems.
The project involved multiple departments across the railroad. CSX’s military operations team worked with transportation personnel to secure sufficient laydown areas, serving yards, and track capacity to handle the surge move. Mechanical crews inspected equipment, and CSX Police helped implement security protocols.
In addition to handling the operational logistics, CSX provided tailored pricing options to accommodate the Army’s readiness requirements and possible scenario changes.
What a waste of taxpayers money. Localize the guard. Demobilize the military. Spend 2% of defending the Homeland and not foreign adventures.