Panama's growth bodes well for canal railway, KCS says

Last month, several Kansas City Southern officers and Chairman Bob Druten visited the Panama Canal Railway Co. (PCRC) to review maintenance and expansion projects.

They also met with executives of the Panama Canal Authority to learn more about its expansion projects — including plans to develop a new port terminal at Corozal on the canal's Pacific side — and held meetings with officials from such terminal operators as Manzanillo Internal Terminal and Hutchison Port Holdings Panama.
 
"The growth taking place in Panama right now is truly astonishing, which bodes very well for the future of the Panama Canal Railway," said KCS President and Chief Executive Officer Dave Starling in an item posted on the "KCS News" web page. "PCRC was the first transcontinental railroad built in North America in 1855, and has enjoyed a close, strategic relationship with the Panama Canal since its inception."

The more than $5 billion Panama Canal expansion is expected to be completed in early 2016. Now about 83 percent complete, the project includes construction of two new sets of locks.

The authority expects to award a 20-year concession for the new Corozal port terminal in April, KCS officials said. The concession will involve the port's design, construction and operation.

A 47-mile freight and passenger railroad, PCRC is jointly owned by KCS and Mi-Jack Products. Last year, the railroad handled 390,000 containers.