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November 24, 1999 9:25 AM, EST

SAN ANTONIO – Amtrak will soon be hauling perishable produce along with passengers, parcels and other cargo as the company goes after additional opportunities to divert freight from the nation’s highways.

The passenger rail service held a press conference Nov. 15 at the National Industrial Transportation League’s annual meeting to outline its plans to lease up to 350 refurbished refrigerated cars, to go along with its fleet of bimodal RoadRailers and box cars. The move comes on the heels of a company announcement that it earned $98 million from carrying freight and express mail during the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.

The latest deal involves a long-term agreement with ExpressTrak Inc. and further develops a business partnership started in January, when Amtrak told of plans to refurbish eight refrigerated cars in a pilot program with the Michigan-based company, which specializes in moving produce and other temperature-sensitive commodities.

Amtrak also enlarged its freight offerings this year with other business ventures that included an express package delivery deal with Dynamex of Dallas and expanded ties with the U.S. Postal Service (1-25, p. 3).

For the full story, see the Nov. 22 print edition of Transport Topics. .