Canadian Pacific, CSX, Genesee & Wyoming Plan Corridor Linking Mexico, Texas and U.S. Southeast

By Robb M. Stewart

Canadian Pacific Kansas City and two other railroads have struck a deal to create a new direct interchange connection in Alabama that would establish a new freight corridor for shippers connecting Mexico, Texas and the U.S. Southeast.

As part of a series of transactions, Canadian Pacific and CSX will each buy or operate portions of Meridian & Bigbee Railroad, a railway in Mississippi and Alabama owned by Genesee & Wyoming, the companies said Wednesday.

Genesee & Wyoming is owned by Brookfield Infrastructure Partners.

Canadian Pacific said that it would buy and operate a segment of the railway between Meridian and Myrtlewood, Ala., and CSX would operate the lines currently leased by Meridian & Bigbee Railroad east of Myrtlewood.

Meridian & Bigbee Railroad runs between Meridian, Miss., and Montgomery, Ala., and currently is operated under a combination of ownership and operating agreements.

With the deal, Canadian Pacific and CSX said they would establish a direct interchange at or near Myrtlewood, Ala., and in exchange, Genesee & Wyoming would buy certain Canadian properties owned by Canadian Pacific and other rights. Meridian & Bigbee Railroad would receive rights to continue to provide local service to existing customers on former Meridian & Bigbee-owned lines and connect with other railroads without interchange restrictions, the companies said.

The terms of the transactions weren't disclosed, and the companies said they would be addressed in definitive agreements they have agreed to negotiate.

Last week, Canadian Pacific said it planned to team up with CSX to build and deploy hydrogen locomotive conversion kits for diesel-electric locomotives as part of a push toward lower-emission operations.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 28, 2023 07:44 ET (11:44 GMT)

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