We need transcontinental railroad mergers — Analysis

CREATE

Railroads fall short of trucks in so many ways. The inability to offer seamless service from Point A to Point B shouldn’t be among them. But the Surface Transportation Board has said, in so many words, that Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern will be the last merger of Class I railroads. That’s a colossal mistake. Why? […]

Read More…

BNSF Railway to seek concession to operate in Mexico

Train of auto racks meets locomotives

WASHINGTON — Is BNSF de Mexico a possibility? BNSF Railway, in a Thursday regulatory filing related to the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger, said it may seek trackage rights on Kansas City Southern to reach the Mexican border at Laredo, Texas. The bombshell was tucked away in a footnote: BNSF will seek a concession […]

Read More…

BNSF and NS may seek trackage rights over KCS as part of CPKC merger

Train with two locomotives and hopper cars on track parallelling street

WASHINGTON – BNSF Railway and Norfolk Southern may both seek trackage rights over Kansas City Southern routes in order to preserve competition as part of the proposed Canadian Pacific-KCS merger. The railroads disclosed their intentions in regulatory filings posted today on the Surface Transportation Board website. The board’s deadline for such responsive applications is Feb. […]

Read More…

CP CEO makes case for intermodal service from Mexican port

Man speaking at podium

LOMBARD, Ill. — Mexico’s port of Lazaro Cardenas will become a significant option in addressing congestion at U.S. West Coast ports and a “necessary” addition to the intermodal supply chain under the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger, CP CEO Keith Creel contends. Creel and KCS CEO Patrick Ottensmeyer, appearing jointly at the Midwest Association of […]

Read More…

KCS capacity focus shifts to Texas

Red, black, and yello locomotives pulling train across bridge

PHOENIX — Kansas City Southern will shift much of its focus on capacity improvements from Mexico to the U.S. in 2022 while overall capital spending will increase “on the magnitude of 10% or so,” Manny Loureiro, the railroad’s vice president and chief engineer, said Saturday at the National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association Conference. Those […]

Read More…

BNSF Railway leads industry in traffic growth during 2021

orange locomotive and train comes around curve in Wyoming

BNSF Railway led the big six Class I railroads in growth in 2021, a year in which rail volume rebounded from the pandemic-related lows of 2020 yet struggled to overcome kinks in the global supply chain. BNSF’s traffic was up 7.4% for the year, with intermodal surging 8.3% and coal up nearly 11%. CSX Transportation […]

Read More…

KCS train derails in Mississippi

Kansas City Southern logo

BOVINA, Miss. — Seventeen cars of a Kansas City Southern train derailed Tuesday evening in Bovina, disrupting traffic and leading to concerns about hazardous materials in some of the cars. The derailment blocked Bovina Drive, which could be impassable for an extended period, and knocked out a power line and transformer. No injuries were reported. […]

Read More…