April 14, 2023 - TRA Newswire -

Today marks the start of a new partnership between Canadian Pacific (CP) and Kansas City Southern (KCS), now to be known as CPKC throughout Texas and the rest of North America. The merger of the two Class 1 railroads followed a thirty day comment period after the Surface Transportation Board issued their final decision on March 15.

The blending of the two railroads creates the first North American railroad in history to serve Canada, the United States and Mexico. 

CPKC President and CEO Kenneth Creel, in a press release, stated "today, we celebrate this historic combination creating a truly unique single-line rail network that begins a new chapter of railroad history in North America. As we mark this once-in-a-lifetime occasion by driving the final spike in Kansas City, Missouri, where CP and KCS come together, we stand ready to bring new competition into the North American rail industry at a time when our supply chains have never needed it more."

Until today, the only time Canadian Pacific appeared in the Lone Star state would have been if you saw a run-though locomotive on another Class 1's train. In the future, CPKC locomotives will start appearing on their main north-south line from Beaumont through East Texas north to Kansas City, on their Meridian Speedway line from Shreveport to the DFW area and along the Gulf Coast through Houston down to the Rio Grande Valley and Laredo.  

The only location that CP and KCS physically met in the past was at a junction in Kansas City. Today, a ceremonial spike was driven at that location to signify the merger.  

CPKC's corporate offices will remain in Calgary, Alberta while a future U.S operations center will be built in Kansas City, where KCS had called home. The $31 billion acquisition occurred on December 14 but required regulatory approval of the Surface Transportation Board.

CPKC expects to spend over $275 million  in a three year period to increase capacity of their core north-south line and to improve rail safety.

The CPKC Board of Directors also today announced the appointment of four new directors, former members of the KCS board. They are David Garza-Santos from Monterrey, Mexico (KCS Director since 2016); Antonio Garza (KCS Director since 2010 and former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico); Henry Maier (Director since 2017 and former CEO of FedEx Ground); and Janet Kennedy (KCS Director since 20170 who was previously a Vice-President at Google.

The annual board meeting is scheduled for June 15.

Photo credit:  CPKC