This article mentions the tremendous truck traffic running north and south between Canada and Mexico. Is it possible that the lack of a cohesive north-south rail corridor is pushing rail optimized freight onto our nation’s highways?
What are the currently functioning north-south rail corridors border to border in the US? I can only find three, and I’m not sure they would all count as Canada to Mexicon rail corridors.
The I-5 corridor, with BNSF running Vancouver BC to SoCal, while UP runs Eastport ID to SoCal. No Mexican rail connection there?
The I-25 corridor, with BNSF running Sweetgrass MT to Texas via the Rocky Mountain Front. Does BNSF still have a north-south connection via El Paso, or has that been given up with the loss of Raton Pass operations?
The I-29/35 corridor. I think BNSF runs from Emerson MN down into Texas, but does BNSF get into Mexico on this corridor (via Tex-Mex)? UP has the Laredo crossing, but do they make it up to Canada via CP/Soo?
Well, unless someone can clarify what I might have missed, that’s it for Canada to Mexico rail corridors, and I’m not sure there is such a thing as a fully functional Canada to Mexico rail service ongoing right now. The I-15 rail corridor is truncated by BNSF between Great Falls and Helena MT. There must be some CSX and/or NS connections from Ontario and Quebec running southwest into Texas via one of the Western roads, isn’t there?
Isn’t there a greater potential for north-south rail expansion that isn’t being discussed right now?
Around the turn of the last century, there was a proposal for Great Plains to Gulf north-south route known as the Midland Continental. The promoters had ambitions at least as grand as that of that of any interurban promoter and actually accomplished about as much. All that actually got built was two short disconnected stretches of railroad in North Dakota that were little more than granger branchlines.
If such a route never got built at that time, it’s even less likely that it would get built now. I don’t see any developers rushing to investment bankers with new proposals for a Canada-Mexico route. Even if they did, I don’t think that the bankers would be all that anxious to lend them the money.
If you go to CP’s website, they show a couple of corridors, looks like with the UP as its partner. CN website shows one corridor, with what looks like the KCS.
I don’t think there is a lot of Canada-Mexico traffic involving western Canada. Most Canada-Mexico traffic goes through Chicago and then Detroit. KCS still has to fix their line in south Texas, so it is up to UP and BNSF to carry the traffic north of the Mexican border. CN has to bring traffic from ST. Louis, Memphis and Jackson, MS up to Chicago to reach Detroit, and CP does not serve St. Louis, Memphis or Jackson.
Only CSX and NS have good lines between southern Illinois (E. St. Louis) and Detroit, and they would only be middlemen. Things would be better if there was another direct railroad between St. Louis and Detroit, either CP, CN, BNSF, UP or a regional.
FWIW, FM, Most of the talk I’ve heard about expanded traffic between Mexico and Canada has been geared towards highway traffic. Such as the hotly debated Interstate 69 expansion project.
Mexican truck drivers being willing to work so cheap, and all.
That’s the whole point. It doesn’t matter how cheap Mexican truck drivers cost a trucking outfit, it is still cheaper to ship that trailer by rail between Canada and Mexico.
All the talk of new north south expressways are geared toward truck traffic aka NAFTA freight traffic. I don’t think you’re going to get alot of north-south passenger traffic, so the “trickle down” benefit to private autos and bus companies is not as paramount as it would be for east-west expressways. Hey, if it’s mostly for NAFTA traffic, it would be better for all if that truck traffic was ferried by rail.