A new CSX and Canadian Pacific Kansas City interchange will connect shippers to Mexico, Texas and the Southeast U.S., according to an Oct. 17 press release.
The two railroads received approval from the Surface Transportation Board for their acquisition of rail lines operated by Genesee & Wyoming’s Meridian & Bigbee Railroad, also known as MNBR, resulting in the new direct interchange connection in Alabama.
CPKC will acquire a segment and operate between Meridian, Mississippi, and Myrtlewood, Alabama, across a slightly more than 50-mile stretch owned by MNBR, according to a STB release. Meanwhile, CSX will operate the lines located east of Myrtlewood currently operated by MNBR. The lines consist of nearly 94 miles in Alabama.
“As a result, CPKC and CSX will establish a direct Class I-to-Class I interchange at or near Myrtlewood and connect shippers in Mexico, Texas and the Southeast U.S. MNBR will continue to provide local service to customers between Meridian and Myrtlewood,” the release said.
The agreement, originally announced in June 2023, builds on CSX and CPKC’s goal to compete for U.S.-Mexico intermodal service.
CPKC and CSX are competing against others like Union Pacific, Canadian National Railway and Grupo México Transportes, which teamed up to leverage parts of their networks to create a service connecting Canada and Mexico.
“With this new east-west Class I route, we are creating competition, providing a service that will take more trucks off the road, and growing rail transportation by expanding markets across the southern U.S., from Dallas to Atlanta and beyond,” Keith Creel, CPKC President and CEO, said in the release.
