Crowley Liner Services to handle railcars for Panama Canal Railway
The Panama Canal Railway Co., a 47.6-mile railroad In Panama owned by the Kansas City Southern Railway and Mi-Jack Corp., has contracted with Crowley Liner Services, a provider of ocean shipping services, to transport up to 29 double-stack well cars to Panama.
The agreement calls for Crowley to ship the railcars from the end of the Florida East Coast Railway in Port Everglades, Fla., to the beginning of the Panama Canal Railway's track in Panama.
Each of the units comprise five cars connected as if they were one long, articulated car, making the total unit more than 200 feet long. Each unit has five wells capable of holding two 40-foot containers in stacked configuration.
After delivery over the next year, the cars will be added to others that are already part of the Panama Canal Railway's equipment in Panama. The new rail service acts as a conveyor belt for cargo to pass across the isthmus, allowing larger ships to transit the canal by lightening their load for passage. The 143-year-old railroad has recently undergone a major enhancement program.
Crowley Liner Services, based in Jacksonville, Fla., is a subsidiary of Crowley Maritime Corp., headquartered in Oakland, Calif.