CALGARY, Alberta – Canadian Pacific Kansas City and the Lanco Group/Mi-Jack have sold the Panama Canal Railway to APM Terminals, a global terminal operator and an independent division of A.P. Moller-Maersk.
The 47.6-mile railway provides ocean-to-ocean freight and passenger services along the Panama Canal and has been a 50/50 joint venture between CPKC subsidiary Kansas City Southern and Lanco Group/Mi-Jack since its formation in 1998.
“We are pleased to have completed this transaction with APM Terminals, a part of A.P. Moller-Maersk, a key strategic partner of CPKC’s and major customer of the Panama Canal Railway Co.,” CPKC CEO Keith Creel said in a statement today (April 2, 2025). “The sale of this non-core asset creates value for our shareholders and reflects our commitment to optimize our assets as we focus on growing our core North American rail business through our unrivaled three-nation network connecting Canada, the United States and Mexico.”
Last year the railway posted $36 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization on revenue of $77 million. In a typical year, the railway handles 300,000 containers.
In late 2023 and early 2024 the railway picked up 20% more business due to low water levels in the canal. Panama imposed drought-related draft limitations on ships passing through the canal. To lighten their loads, shipping lines diverted some containers to the railway. Most of this traffic was from shipping lines that did not regularly use the railway.
The Panama Canal Railway’s regular customers rely on Panama’s ports, the canal, and the railway as a distribution and logistics hub. The railway handles regional trans-shipments to cover Central, South American, and Caribbean markets.
Lanco/Mi-Jack CEO Mike Lanigan said he’s confident that the Panama Canal Railway’s container business will continue to grow under APM ownership.
“PCRC represents an attractive infrastructure investment in the region aligned to our core services of intermodal container movement,” APM Terminals CEO Keith Svendsen said. “The company is highly regarded for its operational excellence and will provide a significant opportunity for us to offer a broader range of services to the global shipping customers we serve.”
The purchase price was not disclosed.
The 47-mile Panama Railroad opened on Jan. 28, 1855, when the first train ran from the Atlantic Ocean across the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean. The construction of the Panama Canal prompted relocation of much of the railroad in 1912.
The railroad lost its transcontinental traffic to the canal when it opened in 1914. The completion of a highway across the isthmus in 1943 took away the railway’s remaining local traffic.
The Panamanian government acquired the railway as part of the 1977 treaty that would eventually see the canal turned over to Panama. The railway further declined under government ownership.
After winning the concession, KCS and Mi-Jack invested $80 million to revitalize the railroad. Its locomotives and passenger equipment wear the historic KCS Southern Belle livery.
Wonder how many times they fall off the end of the track there?
Let’s hope they keep the passenger train in service. Since the pandemic it runs Saturdays only. For April tickets are still available in Coach. Seats in the ex Southern Pacific half domecar are sold out already.
So you are saying it can’t really make money on passenger service? That sounds familiar.
I took the train last year, July 13th. On that day it had 5 ordinary coaches plus one dome car. Only one of the coaches had a few vacant seats left.
Just a hand full of people got on or off at Colon. Most passengers stayed on the train and went back to Panama City.
There are plenty of busses between the two cities. Also the area around Colon station doesn’t feel too safe.
The equipment was labled CPKC already
On previous visit in Feb 2020 when the train still ran on a wice a day it wasn’t that busy
From outside it appears that KCS & CPKC has been a good manager of the rail line. Wonder how many management persons will return to CPKC and how many will stay? A management change may have bad consequences.
I would assume at this point it is pretty much an all around Panamanian management, crews and labor force.
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Makes a lot of sense for the container terminal operator that utilizes the railroad take it over.