Keep your eye on this Texas-Mexico rail link: test trains are running on the South Orient Line, federal CRISI grant announced
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026 - TRA Newswire -
A rail line in deep Southwest Texas that has been idle for over two decades is coming back to life. Test trains are running from the U.S.-Mexico international rail bridge at Presidio to a new U.S. Customs freight car screening facility near the desert town.
The 72 mile stretch of railroad from Paisano Junction outside of Alpine, Texas to Presidio had been mothballed since a fire in 2008 and a second one in 2009 destroyed the timber bridge over the Rio Grande River that connected Texas to Mexico.
The South Orient Line is owned by the state of Texas, administered by the Texas Department of Transportation Rail Division and leased by Texas Pacifico, based in San Angelo.
Stan Meador, Senior Vice President of Texas Pacifico, said that five car trains will be shuttling back and forth through the nonevasive customs screening facility to fine tune the equipment that determine what is inside freight cars that come over the border from Mexico.
In 2018 a strong concrete rail structure started to be put in place to replace of the original timbered bridge. Major flooding had shifted the shape of the land and riverbank underneath the bridge, requiring major engineering intervention. With delays during the pandemic, shortage of materials, and getting workers in a remote area of West Texas, it took until 2024 to complete the rail bridge.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspection facility is the last piece of the puzzle to open international trade through the Presidio-Ojinaga International Rail Bridge, as it is called.
Cross-border rail service is expected to open up service from western ports of Mexico to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. A freight rail park in San Angelo was built several years ago, in anticipation of future economic development that would benefit the region.
The first commercial freight rail service is expected to roll across the Rio Grande in early 2027, with trains expected to run from the Dallas-Fort Worth area to the Chihuahua region in Mexico.
As reported by Texas Rail Advocates, a $35,238,347 CRISI (Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement) grant was announced last week and awarded to Texas Pacifico Transportation, LTD. to develop a new Mexico-U.S. rail corridor in the Big Bend region of Southwest Texas.
The project was selected for Project Development, Final Design, and Construction and includes the rehabilitation and improvement of rail infrastructure in Alpine and Presidio, Texas. The project will install rail, replace ties, restore ballast, rehabilitate twelve at-grade crossings, stabilize yard operations, and construct two new sidings. The project aligns with the selection criteria by enhancing safety, improving system and service performance, and improving reliability as the project will upgrade multiple corridor segments to FRA Class 2 or Class 3 track standards, supporting the reopening and long-term use of the Presidio-Ojinaga international rail gateway. Texas Pacifico will contribute a 40 percent non-Federal cost share. This project qualifies for the statutory set-aside for projects in Rural Areas.
Already, county officials and the Presidio police department are warning motorists to watch out for trains at crossings in the area, something that has not happened for some twenty years.
Photo credit: City of Presidio, Texas
A rail line in deep Southwest Texas that has been idle for over two decades is coming back to life. Test trains are running from the U.S.-Mexico international rail bridge at Presidio to a new U.S. Customs freight car screening facility near the desert town.
The 72 mile stretch of railroad from Paisano Junction outside of Alpine, Texas to Presidio had been mothballed since a fire in 2008 and a second one in 2009 destroyed the timber bridge over the Rio Grande River that connected Texas to Mexico.
The South Orient Line is owned by the state of Texas, administered by the Texas Department of Transportation Rail Division and leased by Texas Pacifico, based in San Angelo.
Stan Meador, Senior Vice President of Texas Pacifico, said that five car trains will be shuttling back and forth through the nonevasive customs screening facility to fine tune the equipment that determine what is inside freight cars that come over the border from Mexico.
In 2018 a strong concrete rail structure started to be put in place to replace of the original timbered bridge. Major flooding had shifted the shape of the land and riverbank underneath the bridge, requiring major engineering intervention. With delays during the pandemic, shortage of materials, and getting workers in a remote area of West Texas, it took until 2024 to complete the rail bridge.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspection facility is the last piece of the puzzle to open international trade through the Presidio-Ojinaga International Rail Bridge, as it is called.
Cross-border rail service is expected to open up service from western ports of Mexico to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. A freight rail park in San Angelo was built several years ago, in anticipation of future economic development that would benefit the region.
The first commercial freight rail service is expected to roll across the Rio Grande in early 2027, with trains expected to run from the Dallas-Fort Worth area to the Chihuahua region in Mexico.
As reported by Texas Rail Advocates, a $35,238,347 CRISI (Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement) grant was announced last week and awarded to Texas Pacifico Transportation, LTD. to develop a new Mexico-U.S. rail corridor in the Big Bend region of Southwest Texas.
The project was selected for Project Development, Final Design, and Construction and includes the rehabilitation and improvement of rail infrastructure in Alpine and Presidio, Texas. The project will install rail, replace ties, restore ballast, rehabilitate twelve at-grade crossings, stabilize yard operations, and construct two new sidings. The project aligns with the selection criteria by enhancing safety, improving system and service performance, and improving reliability as the project will upgrade multiple corridor segments to FRA Class 2 or Class 3 track standards, supporting the reopening and long-term use of the Presidio-Ojinaga international rail gateway. Texas Pacifico will contribute a 40 percent non-Federal cost share. This project qualifies for the statutory set-aside for projects in Rural Areas.
Already, county officials and the Presidio police department are warning motorists to watch out for trains at crossings in the area, something that has not happened for some twenty years.
Photo credit: City of Presidio, Texas