WASHINGTON – Union Pacific will lease 1.25 miles of trackage in Kansas City, Mo., to a new Jaguar Transport short line next month.
The Kansas City West Bottoms Railroad will serve a cluster of customers located off UP’s KC Metro Big Mary Subdivision between milepost 0.63 and milepost 1.60 in Kansas City, according to a regulatory filing. KCWB also will lease and operate the adjacent State Line Yard trackage.
“Union Pacific and Jaguar Transport are excited about the growth potential of the … short line railroad and the positive impact that the operation will have on local industries,” UP spokeswoman Robynn Tysver says.
The deal – the second transfer this year of UP local switching operations to a short line – is scheduled to take effect on or after March 2.
UP is handing off local and yard operations in Eugene, Ore., to Genesee & Wyoming short line Central Oregon & Pacific [see “Central Oregon & Pacific will operate …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 11, 2024
Jaguar representatives did not respond to an email requesting additional information about the Kansas City transaction. Jaguar currently operates 15 short lines, including industrial switching agreements.
Good. U.P. should get out of industrial switching all together. I think this is the ultimate goal of most Class I’s. We need more short lines.
I posted a response to the Oregon lease predicting more of these deals and sure enough here we are. Tell me UP could not provide the same service as this new shortline in K C. You know it could if it wanted to. But, UP is interested in getting rid of more switching employees. It is as simple as that.
I would guarantee that the local customers will get the best service they’ve EVER had.
Interesting. Would hope these arrangements at least make the local customer served a little better.