A new US-Mexico rail corridor is in the works with CSX and CPKC
Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and CSX, two of the biggest rail freight companies in the United States, agreed to create a new rail corridor that will stretch from the US Southeast to Mexico. This is made possible by the acquisition of the rail link connecting Linden, Alabama, with Meridian, Mississippi, which will create a new interchange connection between CPKC and CSX.
CPKC’s network, which extends from Mexico all the way to the Canadian border, has its US southeasternmost point in Mississippi. On the other hand, CSX’s network runs throughout the east of the US up to Alabama in the south. The joint acquisition of the Meridian-Linden line will now allow the two companies to unify their networks. Thus, it will be possible to connect the US Southeast with Mexico via Texas.
The line was bought from Meridian & Bigbee Railroad (MNBR), a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming. As the parties involved specified, MNBR will continue to provide short-line services on the Linden-Meridian line, which extends to Montgomery, Alabama’s capital. Under the new agreement, CPKC would operate the section between Meridian and Myrtlewood, while CSX would take care of the line east of Myrtlewood. The interchange connection should be located at or near Myrtlewood.
CPKC enhancing US-Mexico rail connections
This is not the first initiative of this kind. CPKC was the result of the merger of rail freight giants Canadian Pacific (CP) and Kansas City Southern (KSC), which led to the two companies’ networks being united. This led to the creation of the Mexico Midwest Express service, connecting the US Midwest with Mexico. With the new collaboration with CSX, CPKC can now connect two major areas in the US with the Mexican market.
CP’s network crossed southern Canada from Vancouver to the Bay of Fundy with connections in the northeast of the United States. KCS could count on a network through the southern part of the country all the way to the Mexican port of Lazaro Cardenas. As the map below shows, the two companies’ current networks overlap in Kansas City, at the heart of the United States.
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