Kansas City Southern de México will invest more than 120 million dollars in 2022
Nacional
By Elenne Castro
After completing 25 years of operation in the country, Kansas City Southern de México (KCSM) confirmed an investment of more than 120 million dollars for the development and completion of different railway infrastructure projects.
During this time, the company has managed to strengthen the freight rail network that it has in concession , which has had a positive impact on the economic development of Mexico and has helped increase cross-border trade, a pillar of hundreds of companies in the country.
The investment that KCSM has made in this period exceeds 4.4 billion dollars , resources that have been invested in the construction of new railway infrastructure and its maintenance, in technology and processes to have a smoother and safer transport corridor that has been contributing to regional growth.
Twenty-five years after winning the concession for 4,215 km of freight railroad tracks that cross 15 states in the country, the committed work of KCSM has contributed to the fact that the participation of the railway sector in the Mexican freight transportation system has passed from 12% of total cargo moved in 1997 to 26% of all cargo currently transported in the country. That is why freight rail continues to be the backbone of the industry in Mexico, says Oscar Del Cueto, president of KCSM.
“KCSM's objective in the short and medium term is to continue strengthening its rail network to offer better opportunities for international and cross-border trade, with an extension of connectivity to ports and interior terminals, more so now with the integration into the network of the Canadian Pacific”, says Del Cueto.
At the end of 2021, the signing of the agreement for the merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern was announced , this commercial unification is one of the largest in the sector and represents a great opportunity for Mexico and cross-border trade with its main trading partners. .
The company that is born from the merger, identified as CP-KC , is going to form the first railway network that connects the United States, Mexico and Canada in a direct line , without seams, benefiting from the regulatory framework of the T-MEC.
ACHIEVEMENTS IN 25 YEARS
In 1997, at the beginning of the concession, on the Laredo international bridge KCSM used to cross between 12 and 14 daily trains. Today, between 30 and 32 trains cross the international border daily, with an international crew that allows for a more agile service.
The average length of KCSM trains has increased significantly, in 1997 averaging between 55 and 60 cars per train. Now they move long trains with up to 120 cars. This has made it possible to offer new services, for example, for the automotive sector and for the safe transportation of hydrocarbons.
The rail gauge on KCSM 's network has also increased. When they took over the concession, most of the rails were 90 pound plated and today most of the system is 136 pound welded rail. This allows larger trains to move at higher speeds, which improves the fluidity of the system and allows for better service.
In the last year, among the investment projects that KCSM carried out, the one in Nuevo Laredo stands out, where the capacity of Patio Sánchez was expanded, the most modern operating patio in recent years. This makes it possible to increase operational capacity and reduce the time spent in the terminal for cross-border trains.
In Monterrey , several works were carried out in order to add capacity to the terminal and to the Matamoros route and thus increase flow to the Port of Brownsville, Texas.
In San Luis Potosí , investment was made to improve the capacity of the network, automation and signaling, in addition to the construction of an automotive yard.
In the Port of Veracruz , where it recently began direct operations, KCSM seeks greater efficiency for the benefit of intermodal and automotive customers by serving them directly.
