Genesee & Wyoming Inc. and SEACOR Holdings Inc. announced the formation of a 50/50 joint venture to own and operate CG Railway, LLC (CGR), a subsidiary of SEACOR recently acquired through its acquisition of International Shipholding Corporation.
CGR operates a freight railways providing four-day rail ferry service between the ports of Mobile, Alabama, and Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz. The rail ferry presents a faster and more cost-effective alternative to the traditional land route between the southeast U.S. and southeast Mexico. The joint venture plans to immediately invest in the existing rail ferry vessels to enhance service reliability.
Established in 2001, the ferry service currently transports approximately 10,000 annual carloads of commodities such as chemicals and plastics, fructose & refined sugar, steel and pulp and paper.
The CGR business has a U.S. Class III freight rail that connects in Mobile with G&W’s Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway (AGR), BNSF (via AGR), Canadian National (CN), CSX, Kansas City Southern (via CN) and Norfolk Southern and connects in Coatzacoalcos with Ferrosur, the railway serving central and southern Mexico. The service employs two 585’ roll-on/roll-off rail ferries, each with the capacity to transport approximately 115 railcars per voyage. CGR also has a 10,000-square-foot, food-grade, truck-to-rail transload facility and a railcar repair shop both located in Mobile.
“We are committed to improve the rail ferry’s on-time performance by leveraging SEACOR’s expertise in marine operations. Combining reliable service with the cost efficiency of short sea shipping and the 50% shorter transit time versus land routes, we create a compelling alternative for customers moving goods between the eastern U.S. and Canada to and from central and southern Mexico,” said CGR Senior Vice President Kevin Wild.
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