Kansas City Southern's Mexican rail operations blocked by protesters

Kansas City Southern de Mexico, S.A. de C.V., a subsidiary of Kansas City Southern, has experienced service interruptions due to civil protests near its rail network in Mexico, railroad officials announced yesterday.

Led by teachers, the civil disobedience protests that have blocked freight trains are directed at the Mexican government over education reforms, according to news reports.

The protests are continuing to impede KCSM's ability to provide efficient freight-rail service to its customers. Other railroads and transportation companies also have been affected, KCSM officials said in a press release.

KCSM and other businesses "have requested the appropriate authorities to intervene so as to resolve the situation as expeditiously as possible," KCSM officials said. "However, at this time it is not possible to project when regular service will be restored, nor estimate the financial impact, if any, the protests will have on KCSM."