ISC TO OFFER U.S./MEXICO RAIL-FERRY SERVICE IN JANUARY
New Orleans-based International Shipholding Corp. will start an interline rail-ferry service transporting railcars every four days between Mobile, Ala. and Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, starting in mid-January.
ISC formed CG Railway Inc. as a shortline railroad, which received U.S. Surface Transportation Board authorization to serve as the carry for the entry/exit system.
Through CG Railway, ISC charted two 585-foot self-propelled roll-on/roll-off ferry vessels with a capacity of 60 standard railcars each. The vessels have 30-foot sidewalls to protect the cars from sea water.
CG Railway also entered into a joint venture agreement with the Mexican railroad Ferrosur S.A. de C.V., a subsidiary of Grupo Carso, one of the largest corporations in Mexico. Ferrosur's service area covers from Mexico City to southern and eastern Mexican regions.
The venture includes Ferrosur operating the railcars within Mexico and cooperation with CG Railway in handling the railcars to and from the ocean vessels at Coatzacoalcos.
The two companies are jointly marketing the service.
'After considerable study of cargo movements between Mexico and the United States during the post-NAFTA period, it became apparent that there should be another entry/exit system developed for the Canadian/eastern U.S./Mexico trade that would give railroads predominantly operating east of the Mississippi River direct access to Mexico,” ISC said in a statement.”
CG Railway is in the process of completing interline agreements with railroads operating east of the Mississippi River, including Canadian National/Illinois Central, Norfolk Southern, CSX and Burlington Northern Santa Fe. CG Railway has also signed up Railcar Management Inc. as a database for monitoring and tracking CGR railcars in the U.S. system.
Alabama State Docks is constructing a special rail-ferry dock in cooperation with ISC. The specialized terminal is scheduled for completion in December.