Thread: US-Mexico International Railway Nears Completion

First new U.S.-Mexico rail bridge in more than a century now operational

By Aaron Nelsen
August 7, 2015

Photo: Photo Courtesy Of Cameron County


An aerial view shows the West Rail Bridge as it crosses the Rio Grande and into Mexico from the United States. The rail relocation project spanned 15 years and cost more than $120 million. It is the first U.S.-Mexico rail bridge in 100 years. Though international rail makes up a small part of goods that pass across the U.S. border with Mexico, regional business leaders say the bridge is key to the long-term success of the region.

The first new international rail bridge between the U.S. and Mexico in more than 100 years is finally operational. 　

Built in a rural area west of Brownsville, the bridge over the Rio Grande and the connecting tracks took 15 years to complete and the price tag ran over $120 million. On Friday morning, freight trains carrying goods from the Mexican state of Tamaulipas into Cameron County rumbled down the West Rail Bridge at long last, marking an important step toward reducing congestion at the border as trade with Mexico booms, local officials and business experts said.

“Providing this new link to move goods and services more efficiently is going to bring enormous advantages and opportunities to the consumer, the supplier and to markets throughout North America,” said Cameron County Judge Pete Sepulveda Jr.

The West Rail Bridge replaces the old rail connection, which cut through a busy section of Brownsville and Matamoros, Mexico, including school zones, and interrupted trade during peak business hours.

Currently, three northbound trains and three southbound trains cross the international rail bridge every day, but business experts say that by shifting rail traffic out of congested areas, the new rail line can speed the flow of goods moving between the two countries and boost economic growth in the region.

“If you think about trade volumes right now with Mexico, they’re only going to grow, and rail is a critical component of cross-border logistics,” said Garrick Taylor, director of policy development with the Border Trade Alliance, a nonprofit group of economists and private-sector interests that advocate for international trade.

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  First new U.S.-Mexico rail bridge in more than a century now

The rail line runs from the Port of Brownsville to Monterrey, Mexico. Now, with the expected speed and efficiency of the West Rail Bridge, experts say the advantageous transportation infrastructure will attract prospective business interests, especially in oil and gas.

“The expansion of the oil industry in Mexico will eventually move more oil through that particular crossing,” said Juan Villa, program manager for the Mexico city office of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. “Moving oil across the border is problematic, and although some pipelines are being built, a lot of fuel will need to move by rail.”

In the first six months of 2015, trade with Mexico topped $262 billion, according to U.S. census data. In Cameron County, motor vehicle parts, commercial vehicles, fuels and cellular phone equipment topped the list of imports and exports.

The rail bridge project faced delays on several occasions due to logistics problems on both sides of the border. By the end, about $45 million in federal, state and county funds were spent on the six-mile rail line in South Texas, with Mexico investing an additional $75 million for a seven-mile stretch in Tamaulipas.

Border security measures include X-ray scanning machines that scan rail cars for illicit cash, drugs and other contraband.

“To have this new transportation artery is paramount to the success of the region,” said David E. Allex, chairman of the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority, which oversaw the rail project in Texas. “I know that we will be able to attract more investment because of this project.”

http://www.expressnews.com/news/loca...-a-6431992.php

Railroad plans $100M investment in New Mexico for 2016

Posted: Friday, February 19, 2016 3:32 am | Updated: 10:53 am, Fri Feb 19, 2016.
Associated Press |

ALBUQUERQUE — BNSF Railway says it plans to spend nearly $100 million on replacing and upgrading rails and other capital improvement projects around New Mexico this year.

The company announced its spending plans Thursday, saying the focus will be on making improvements that are in line with forecasted demand for freight services.

Company officials say another goal is to ensure that BNSF continues to operate a safe and reliable railway network.

The company's plan includes surfacing and other improves along some 900 miles of track, the replacement of about 15 miles of rail and thousands of ties as well as signal upgrades for federally mandated positive train control.

This year's investment is in addition to more than $325 million spent by the railroad in New Mexico over the past three years.

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/new...d7cbc5437.html

Canadian Pacific approached CSX about deal while pursuing NS

AP News | Mar 02, 2016

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Canadian Pacific reportedly approached the CSX railroad about a possible merger earlier this year while it continued to pursue its proposed takeover of rival Norfolk Southern.

The latest overture to Jacksonville, Florida-based CSX was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. Canadian Pacific first contacted CSX in the fall of 2014 about a potential deal and was rejected.

Canadian Pacific CEO Hunter Harrison said his railroad remains committed to its roughly $30 billion bid for Norfolk Southern, which is based in Norfolk, Virginia.

"We've said all along that if we looked at the synergies between the two Eastern carriers, right now both of them would work for us," Harrison said to The Wall Street Journal. Canadian Pacific spokesman Martin Cej said that quote is accurate.

Officials with CSX and Norfolk Southern railroads both declined to comment.

The reported contact with CSX reinforces how interested Canadian Pacific officials are in joining with one of the Eastern railroads, but it doesn't necessarily make a deal likely to succeed, said Citi analyst Christian Wetherbee.

A deal faces significant regulatory hurdles because no major railroad mergers have been approved since the federal Surface Transportation Board adopted tough rules for them in 2001.

Canadian Pacific first approached Norfolk Southern last fall about the possibility of combining the two railroads. The offer has been revised and rejected several times.

Norfolk Southern has said it believes Canadian Pacific's offer is grossly inadequate, and it questions whether federal regulators would approve such a merger or impose costly conditions on the deal.

Canadian Pacific officials said Wednesday they have asked the board to review the proposed structure of the Norfolk Southern deal, which calls for setting up a voting trust to oversee both railroads and installing Harrison as CEO of Norfolk Southern while regulators review the deal.

Norfolk Southern believes that would violate a prohibition against an acquiring railroad taking control of its target before a deal is approved.

Canadian Pacific also plans to ask Norfolk Southern shareholders at their annual meeting to vote on whether they want the two railroads to discuss a possible merger. But the nonbinding vote won't include details of a specific proposal.

Canadian Pacific officials have said they believe combining the two railroads would create a more efficient operation. CP has also said it could cut roughly $1.8 billion in annual costs from the combined railroad.

Norfolk Southern has said those cuts would likely jeopardize the customer service and performance that customers expect. It is pursuing its own plan to cut $130 million in costs this year and create more than $650 million in annual cost savings by 2020 while improving service.

http://townhall.com/news/politics-el...ng-ns-n2127738

Every train has a name. Is this one going to be called the Mexican Gravy Express?

Delta gets Mexican OK for Aeromexico joint venture

More BNSF info @

Buffett's BNSF cuts ethanol shipper costs amid push for safer train cars

The Deadline Nears to Phase Out Weak Rail Tanker Cars

By TIM RUDELL • 2 HOURS AGO
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• Fire following derailment at Lac-Megantic, Quebec
  BY SÛRETÉ DU QUÉBEC - HTTPS://TWITTER.COM/SURETEDUQUEBEC/S...732096/PHOTO/1, CC BY-SA 1.0, HTTPS://COMMONS.WIKIMEDIA.ORG/W/INDE...CURID=27152159 / WIKIPEDIA
  

Trains carrying volatile crude oil across Ohio to East Coast refineries and ports in the U.S. and Canada will no longer include a kind of tanker cars that have proven to be easily ruptured in accidents.

John Gross, Fire Chief, Marathon Petroleum, Canton, OH
CREDIT MARATHON PETROLEUM CORPORATLION

Four years ago, after several incidents of older-style tank cars bursting into flames in derailments, the federal government ordered them phased out by Jan. 1, 2018. As that date nears, a Transportation Department report shows fewer than 300 of the cars are still in service.

John Gross, fire chief for the Marathon refinery in Canton, says the replacement tankers are more robust.

“The biggest features of these cars is that in the event of a derailment then you have a better chance of maintaining the integrity of the railcar and not having spilled product. So your chances are a lot better of just simply a derailment and not a fire, release or explosion.”

Tank cars being tested by
CREDIT VOLPE CENTER / U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

The worst fiery derailment was in 2013. Forty-seven people were killed in the small Quebec town of Lac Mégantic 8 miles from the U.S. border. The train included 72 of the kind of tank cars now in the last stage of being phased out of crude oil hauling.

They are known as 111s — DOT-111 Tank Cars in the U.S and CVC-111As in Canada. The cars can typically carry up to 30,000 gallons of crude oil.

In 2013, there were more than 13,000 of them hauling crude on the interconnected rail systems of two countries.

Several variations of the 111s were built over the years, including some called jacketed models that were retrofitted with heavier protective components.

While the original models are the ones that have to be out of crude oil service by Jan. 1st in the U.S., the DOT-111 jacketed units are on a deadline, too. They have to be gone by the end of March. Both types were phased out in Canada in late 2016.

DOT-117 rail car design
CREDIT U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

New, more stringent tanker car construction specifications were approved in 2015 by the Federal Railroad Administration in the U.S. and by Transport Canada. All cars not meeting those design requirements must be out of service by May of 2025.

http://wksu.org/post/deadline-nears-...-cars#stream/0

Use the railway for ONE-WAY deportations to Mexico and Central America!