WASHINGTON – A new short line is seeking regulatory approval to build a rail and highway bridge over the Rio Grande at the Eagle Pass, Texas, gateway.
Green Eagle Railroad, a subsidiary of Puerto Verde Holdings, aims to build a new 19.12-mile secure cross-border corridor that includes 1.335 miles of double track between Union Pacific’s Clark’s Park Yard and a new double-track span over the Rio Grande, followed by a 17.79-mile single-track line to Ferromex’s Rio Escondido Yard in Piedras Negras.
The corridor would be fenced, include customs processing facilities, and have no grade crossings because it would bypass the urban centers of Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras.
Green Eagle, which detailed its plans in a filing today with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, also seeks to divert UP and BNSF Railway trains off the existing bridge and onto its new corridor. The plans to build and operate a new stretch of railroad in the U.S. will require STB approval.
UP and trackage rights tenant BNSF currently operate 15 to 18 trains across the border using the existing single-track span that was built in 1922. The bridge was closed for four days in September after Ferromex suspended operations for safety reasons due to a surge in migrants riding its freights to the border.
Green Eagle says the bridge will alleviate rail and truck traffic congestion, reduce cross-border wait times, and increase security at the No. 2 U.S.-Mexico rail gateway.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City is currently building a second span over the Rio Grande at Laredo, the top rail border crossing. The Laredo bridge, which will double capacity at the border, is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.
“The GER proposal is designed to maintain continuous track speeds (unless a train is flagged for further inspection) to provide security from terrorist activities, illicit contraband (like fentanyl), and illegal human transport,” Green Eagle says in its filing.
Eagle Pass has seen significant traffic growth. Northbound traffic has grown from 61,600 cars in 1996 to 336,500 in 2019, Green Eagle says. By 2050 the gateway is projected to handle 943,700 freight cars per year, Green Eagle says.
In November BNSF and J.B. Hunt announced that they would be shifting their cross-border intermodal service to Eagle Pass from the current routing via Laredo. Eagle Pass also sees the interline Canadian National-Union Pacific-Ferromex Falcon Premium intermodal service, which was launched in May.
The new corridor would increase operational efficiency at the border by using joint rail customs inspections through the Unified Cargo Processing program, improving screening technology, and expanding cross-border rail operations to 24 hours per day, Green Eagle says.
Green Eagle also proposes using binational crews and Class I mechanical inspections to speed freight, which have proven controversial. U.S. labor unions have opposed the use of Mexican crews on U.S. soil as well as mechanical inspections performed in Mexico.
The double-track corridor on the bridge and its approaches on both sides of the border will significantly boost capacity and creates opportunities to shift truck traffic to rail, Green Eagle says. The bridge would be built upstream from the current span.
“GER has introduced the proposal to UPRR and BNSF for those railroads to re-route traffic over PVH’s proposed Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge and conversations with both railroads are continuing,” according to Green Eagle’s filing. “PVH believes that the proposed new trade corridor, with its anticipated benefit of reducing cross-border transit times, increasing capacity, and increasing security would provide both railroads valuable commercial benefits. If GER is able to agree to terms with UPRR and BNSF on all relevant agreements, GER proposes to offer freight service between the Ferromex Rio Escondido Yard and the UPRR Clark’s Park Yard and between the Ferromex Rio Escondido Yard and the BNSF Ryan’s Ruin Yard.”
A UP spokesman says the railroad “is reviewing the concept.”
“BNSF is always interested in private investment that increases border-crossing efficiency and facilitates cross-border growth,” a railroad spokesman says.
Puerto Verde Holdings plans a new rail served industrial park in Mexico – Puerto Verde Nava – abutting the Ferromex Rio Escondido Yard, as well as an industrial park – Puerto Verde North – located to the north of the UPRR Clark’s Park yard and to the south of BNSF’s Ryan’s Ruin yard.
On the U.S. side, Puerto Verde Holdings will build a 180-foot-wide roadway with six travel lanes and a center turn lane from the commercial vehicle bridge and its inspection facilities.
Note: Updated at 2:10 p.m. Central with comment from UP and at 6:10 p.m. Central with comment from BNSF.
The article said double tracking would occur on both side of the bridge so transit times may be much faster. It only has to be “substantial” enough to hold the weight of itself and the train cars, locomotives and vehicles at any given time. I know there is some engineer who populates this site that can probably approximate that for us.
Sorry, I was responding to Alan Jones. Please excuse the double post…
The article said double tracking would occur on both side of the bridge so transit times may be much faster. It only has to be “substantial” enough to hold the weight of itself and the train cars and locomotives at any one time, I know there is some engineer who populates this site that can approximate that for us.
I always said if BNSF wanted better conditions crossing the Rio Grande, then they should pony up the cash themselves. Now they have done themselves one better, they got someone else to pay for it.
But they will need to do better on the immigration issue, the news in Mexico is about record crowds trying to jump on container trains south of Piedras Negras.
The Green River bridge does not appear as substantial as the one at Laredo.