Overview | |
---|---|
Parent company | Kansas City Southern Canadian Pacific Kansas City |
Headquarters | Kansas City, Missouri |
Reporting mark | KCS |
Locale | Midwestern and Southeastern United States |
Founder | Arthur Stillwell |
Dates of operation | 1887–2023 |
Predecessor | Kansas City Suburban Belt Railroad Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad |
Successor | CPKC |
Technical | |
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
Length | 3,984 miles (6,412 km) |
Other | |
Website | kcsouthern.com |
The Kansas City Southern Railway Company( reporting mark KCS) was an American Class I railroad. Founded in 1887, it operated in 10 Midwestern and Southeastern U.S. states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. KCS owned the shortest north-south rail route between Kansas City, Missouri, and several key ports along the Gulf of Mexico.
The focus of the routes was the fastest way to connect Kansas City to seaports, since it was only 800 miles from Kansas City to the Gulf of Mexico compared to 1,400 miles between Kansas City and the Atlantic Ocean ports. [1]
KCS operated over a railroad system consisting of 3,984 route miles (6,412 km) that extended south to the Mexico–United States border at which point another KCS-operated railroad, Kansas City Southern de México (KCSM), hauled freight into northeastern and central Mexico and to several Gulf of Mexico ports and the Pacific Port of Lázaro Cárdenas.
Canadian Pacific Railway purchased KCS in December 2021 for US$31 billion. On April 14, 2023, KCS became a wholly owned subsidiary of CPR, and both companies began conducting business under the name of their parent company, Canadian Pacific Kansas City. [2]
Arthur Stilwell began construction on the first line of what would eventually become the Kansas City Southern Railway in 1887, in suburban Kansas City, Mo. Together with Edward L. Martin, Stilwell built the Kansas City Suburban Belt Railway, a 20-mile long railroad, which was incorporated in 1887 and began operation in 1890.
In 1897, Stilwell completed the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad Company (KCP&G) with a route running north and south from Kansas City to Shreveport, Louisiana, terminating at Port Arthur, Texas. In order to comply with Louisiana laws Stilwell, William S. Taylor, E. L. Martin, and others, officers of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Trust Company of Kansas City, Missouri, as well as the KCP&G, incorporated the Kansas City, Shreveport & Gulf Railway Company (KCS&G) on September 27, 1894, to build or acquire railroads in Louisiana. The Arkansas Construction Company completed a 41.10-mile line from Arkansas-Louisiana State line (northern terminus with the Texarkana & Fort Smith Railway Company) to Shreveport on April 15, 1896. The Kansas City Terminal Construction Company completed a 76.40-mile Shreveport to Many line on October 26, 1896, an 85.80-mile Many to De Quincy line on June 30, 1897, and the 19.16-mile De Quincy to the Louisiana-Texas state line on September 11, 1897, where the southern terminus was with the Texarkana & Fort Smith Railway Company. A 26.60-mile narrow gauge branch line was acquired from the Calcasieu, Vernon & Shreveport Railway Company (CV&S), through the Arkansas Construction Company, that ran from De Quincy, West Lake, Lake Charles, and Lockport, and the construction company widened the tracks to standard gauge. In 1895, the KCP&G entered into a contract with the KCS&G to operate and maintain its property. [3]
In 1900, KCP&G was taken over by the Kansas City Southern Railway Company (KCS). [4]
By 1914, the KCS owned the separate entities of the Arkansas Western Railway Company, Fort Smith & Van Buren Railway Company, Kansas City, Shreveport & Gulf Railway Company, the Kansas City, Shreveport & Gulf Terminal Company, the Maywood & Sugar Creek Railway Company, the Port Arthur Canal & Dock Company, the Poteau Valley Railroad Company, the Texarkana & Fort Smith Railway Company, the Arkansas Western Railway Company, the Glenn Pool Tank Line Company, the Joplin Union Depot Company, the Kansas City Terminal Railway Company, and the K. C. S. Elevator Company. [5]
In 1962, Kansas City Southern Industries, Inc. (KCSI) was established when the company began to diversify its interests into other industries. At that time, KCS became a subsidiary of KCSI. In 2002, KCSI formally changed its name to Kansas City Southern (KCS), with KCS remaining a subsidiary.
From 1940 to 1969, the Kansas City Southern operated two primary passenger trains, the Flying Crow (Trains #15 & 16) between Kansas City and Port Arthur (discontinued on May 11, 1968) and the Southern Belle (Trains #1 & 2) between Kansas City and New Orleans (discontinued on November 2, 1969). [6] In 1995, a new Southern Belle was created as an executive train to entertain shippers and guests. It also pulls the Holiday Express train in December, making the rounds to several KCS cities and stations. [7]
In 1996, Kansas City Southern Industries won a Mexican government concession to operate the "Northeast Railroad," a potentially profitable 5,335-kilometer rail system connecting key cities and ports. This line, which carried a significant portion of Mexico's rail traffic and freight from the United States, was highly sought after due to its strategic location, including proximity to numerous auto assembly plants. [8] The concession was operated by a new company known as Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM), which was a joint venture of KCSI with Transportación Maritima Mexicana (TMM). In 2005, TMM sold its share of TFM to KCSI, prompting a rename to Kansas City Southern de México (KCSM).
In 1995, the expanding KCS bought 49 percent of Tex-Mex Railway. At the time, the investment was considered questionable by some observers, because TM had no connection to KCSR. The solution would not come until 1996, when Union Pacific and Southern Pacific agreed to provide Tex-Mex with trackage rights from Robstown northbound and through the Houston area to connect with KCSR at Beaumont. This agreement was one of the conditions imposed by the Surface Transportation Board (STB) for the approval of the proposed merger between UP and SP. Responding to increased international trade between the US and Mexico, the railroad built a large railroad yard and intermodal freight transport facility at Laredo in 1998. They also won Regional Railroad of the Year that same year. [9]
On March 21, 2021, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) announced that it was purchasing KCS for US$29 billion. Prior, a competing cash and stock offer was made by Canadian National Railway (CN) on April 20, 2021 at $33.7 billion. [10] On May 13, 2021, KCS announced in a statement that they planned to accept the higher offer from CN, but would give CP until May 21 to come up with a higher bid, which was not made. [11] However, CN's merger attempt would be blocked by a STB ruling in August 2021 that the company could not use a voting trust to assume control of KCS, due to concerns about potentially reduced competition in the railroad industry. [12]
On September 12, 2021, KCS accepted a new $31 billion offer from CP. Though CP's offer was lower than the offer made by CN, the STB permitted CP to use a voting trust to take control of KCS. [12] The voting trust allowed CP to become the beneficial owner of KCS in December 2021, but the two railroads operated independently until receiving approval for a merger of operations from the STB. [13] [14] That approval came on March 15, 2023, which permitted the railroads to merge as soon as April 14, 2023. [15] [16]
KCS hauled freight for seven major government and business sectors: agriculture and minerals, military, automotive, chemical and petroleum, energy, industrial and consumer products and intermodal.[ citation needed ]
KCS had the shortest north-south rail route between Kansas City, Missouri, and several key ports along the Gulf of Mexico in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. [17] The KCS, along with the Union Pacific railroad, was one of only two Class I railroads based in the United States that has not originated as the result of a merger between previously separate companies.
The company owned or contracted with intermodal facilities along its rail network in Kansas City, MO; Jackson, Miss.; Wylie, Texas; Kendleton, Texas; and Laredo, Texas. [18]
KCS operated over a railroad system consisting of 3,984 route miles (6,412 km) [19] that extended south to the Mexico–United States border at which point another KCS railroad, Kansas City Southern de México (KCSM), can haul freight into northeastern and central Mexico and to the Gulf of Mexico ports of Tampico, Altamira, and Veracruz, as well as to the Pacific Port of Lázaro Cárdenas, fulfilling the vision of KCS founder Arthur Edward Stilwell. [20]
Kansas City Southern Railway was owned by Kansas City Southern, known as Kansas City Southern Industries until 2002, which in turn also owned other companies like Kansas City Southern de México and the Panama Canal Railway's operator, Panama Canal Railway Company.
DeQuincy is the northernmost city in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,235 at the 2010 census. DeQuincy is part of the Lake Charles metropolitan statistical area.
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States.
BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, 33,400 miles (53,800 km) of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that provide rail connections between the western and eastern United States. BNSF trains traveled over 169 million miles in 2010, more than any other North American railroad.
Kansas City Southern (KCS) was a transportation holding company with railroad investments in the United States, Mexico, and Panama and operated from 1887 to 2023. The KCS rail network included about 7,299 miles (11,747 km) of track in the U.S. and Mexico.
The Missouri Pacific Railroad, commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad operated 9,041 miles of road and 13,318 miles of track, not including DK&S, NO&LC, T&P, and its subsidiaries C&EI and Missouri-Illinois.
The Gateway Western Railway was a Class II railroad that operated 408 miles of former Chicago and Alton Railroad track between Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri. It also operated between Kansas City, Missouri, and Springfield, Illinois on the old Alton Railroad line that eventually was the Chicago, Missouri and Western Railway.
Kansas City Southern de México, S.A. de C.V. is a Mexican railroad and operating subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited (CPKC). The company was founded in 1996 as Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana, a joint venture between KCS and Transportación Maritima Mexicana after the companies won a concession from the Mexican government to operate the 5,335-kilometer (3,315 mi) Northeast Railroad connecting Monterrey and Mexico City with a US port of entry at Laredo, Texas and seaports at Lázaro Cárdenas and Veracruz. In 2005, KCS bought out its partner's shares in the railroad, giving it full control.
The Louisiana and Arkansas Railway was a railroad that operated in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. The railroad's main line extended 332 miles, from Hope, Arkansas to Shreveport and New Orleans. Branch lines served Vidalia, Louisiana, and Dallas, Texas.
The Texarkana and Fort Smith Railway was the Texas subsidiary of the Kansas City Southern Railway, operating railroad lines in the states of Arkansas and Texas, with headquarters at Texarkana, Texas.
The Texas Mexican Railway was a short line railroad in the U.S. state of Texas operating between Corpus Christi and the Texas Mexican Railway International Bridge in Laredo, Texas. It is often referred to as the Tex Mex, or Tex Mex Railway.
Mexico has a freight railway system owned by the national government and operated by various entities under concessions (charters) granted by the national government. The railway system provides freight and service throughout the country, connecting major industrial centers with ports and with rail connections at the United States border. Passenger rail services were limited to a number of tourist trains between 1997, when Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México suspended service, and 2008, when Ferrocarril Suburbano de la Zona Metropolitana de México inaugurated Mexico's first commuter rail service between Mexico City and the State of Mexico. This is not including the Mexico City Metro, which started service in 1969.
The Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad was a railway company that began operations in the 1890s and owned a main-line between Kansas City, Missouri, and Port Arthur, Texas. It was led by Arthur Stilwell before being thrown into receivership and eventually being absorbed by the Kansas City Southern Railway in 1900.
The Meridian Speedway is a 320-mile (510 km) span of railroad track between Shreveport, Louisiana and Meridian, Mississippi. An important rail link between the Southeastern and Southwestern United States, it is operated as a joint venture of Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), which owns 70% of the partnership; and Alabama Great Southern Railroad, a subsidiary of Norfolk Southern Railway (NS).
The Queen and Crescent Route was a cooperative railroad route in the Southeastern U.S., connecting Cincinnati with New Orleans and Shreveport. Inaugurated in the 1880s, the name was retained by Southern Railway when they consolidated ownership of the entire route in 1926, and given to their named passenger train for the route through 1949.
The following is a brief history of the North American rail system, mainly through major changes to Class I railroads, the largest class by operating revenue.
The following is a brief history of the North American rail system, mainly through major changes to Class I railroads, the largest class by operating revenue.
The Arkansas Southern Railroad Company was a small carrier with track in Arkansas and Louisiana. It was incorporated in 1892 and merged out of existence in 1905.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited, doing business as CPKC, is a Canadian railway holding company. Through its primary operating railroad subsidiaries, Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) and Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS), it operates about 32,000 kilometres (20,000 mi) of rail in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, and is the only single-line rail corporation ever to connect the three countries. CPKC is headquartered in Calgary and led by President and CEO Keith Creel.
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