Progressive Transportation’s agent carrier, Christenson Transportation, announced a new arrangement with the Florida East Coast Railway to provide more reliable shipping between the Tennessee-Kentucky border and Florida. 

The Florida East Coast Railway agreed to give rail trailers to Christenson Transportation for its exclusive use. The railway brings the trailers to Christenson Transportation’s terminal where they are stored, distributed, loaded and brought back. This allows the Florida East Coast Railway to make the turn from Atlanta back to the rail ramp in the same day without a break in hours of service. These trailers can accommodate up to 53-foot rail boxes. 

The program has been operating in a test phase since last summer.

“We have handled over 100 rail shipments since the program began this past summer,” says Paul Stykitus, director of sales for Christenson Transportation. “We’ve done very well in the test phase and are aggressively pursuing the accommodation of additional volume. Operationally, coordination with the Florida East Coast Railway has been outstanding.” 

This arrangement between the carrier and railway has reduced delivery time to only two days from pickup, allowing both companies to accomplish more in less time. 

As partners, Christenson Transportation and the Florida East Coast Railway augment their service and capacity in driving solutions for customers located in smaller markets such as central Tennessee and southern Kentucky. 

“Paul and I approached the Florida East Coast Railway in our investigation into handling large volumes of freight to Southern Florida,” explains Jeff Brashares, senior vice president of Sales and National Accounts for TTS LLC, Progressive's parent company. “By working with the Florida East Coast Railway, we not only supplement our capacity, but also help our customers who participate in difficult seasonal markets.” 

As an agent carrier of Progressive Transportation, Christenson Transportation is a mid-size transportation provider, operating nationwide. Progressive Transportation is the asset-based arm of TTS LLC, a Dallas-based third-party transportation and logistics provider.