The Texas Mexican Railway International Bridge is an international railway bridge across the Rio Grande and U.S.-Mexico border between Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, the only rail link between these cities. Owned and operated by CPKC, the single-track bridge is the busiest rail border crossing in North America. It is also known as the Laredo International Railway Bridge and Puente Negro (The Black Bridge).
Texas Mexican Railway International Bridge | |
|---|---|
 Train crossing the Texas Mexican Railway International Bridge, as seen from the U.S. | |
| Coordinates | 27°29′55″N 99°30′59″W / 27.498550°N 99.516336°W |
| Carries | Trains |
| Crosses | Rio Grande/Mexico–United States border |
| Locale | Laredo, Texas/Nuevo Laredo |
| Other name(s) | Laredo International Railway Bridge Puente Negro |
| Owner | CPKC |
| Next upstream | World Trade International Bridge |
| Next downstream | Gateway to the Americas International Bridge |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Truss bridge |
| Material | Steel |
| Pier construction | Concrete |
| Total length | 1,275 ft (389 m) |
| Width | 18 ft (5.5 m) |
| Capacity | 26 trains per day |
| Rail characteristics | |
| No. of tracks | 1 |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| History | |
| Opened | 1920 |
| Location | |
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History
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The bridge opened in 1920. The approach to the bridge on the side of the United States was controlled by the Texas Mexican Railway (Tex Mex), which had been owned by the Mexican Government since the turn of the century. The approach to the bridge on the Mexican side would also come to be fully owned by the when all railroads were nationalized under Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México (N de M, English: Mexican National Railways) in the late 1930s.
Tex Mex was sold to Transportación Maritima Mexicana (TMM) in 1982. In 1996, the Mexican Government privatized N de M, and sold the Northeast Railroad leading to the bridge to Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM), a joint venture between TMM and Kansas City Southern (KCS). At that same time, TMM sold 49 percent of Tex Mex to KCM, making both sides of the bridge a joint venture.
KCS bought out TMM in 2005, integrating Tex Mex into its Kansas City Southern Railway and turning TFM into Kansas City Southern de México, giving the railroad full control of a route between the midwestern United States and a large portion of Mexico.
Canadian Pacific Railway purchased KCS in December 2021 for US$31 billion. On April 14, 2023, the railroads merged to form CPKC, the first and only to directly serve Canada, Mexico and the United States. One of the major arguments for the merger was that it would increase competition in the Chicago–Mexico corridor that had been dominated by Union Pacific and BNSF Railway.[1]
The bridge is the busiest rail border crossing in North America.[2] As of 2022[update], the bridge was operating at its maximum capacity of 26 trains per day. Further growth was limited by the need for customs and safety inspections at the crossing. On October 31, 2022, KCS broke ground on a second parallel bridge, which will double the capacity of the crossing, and allowing each bridge to be focused on a single direction of traffic. The bridge is expected to be completed in October 2024.[3]
In December 2024, construction was completed on the second crossborder bridge, which will end the bottleneck created by the current border single track bridge. The new bridge will be named after KCS's long-remembered CEO and President, Patrick "Pat" J. Ottensmeyer. Ottensmeyer, who pushed for the construction of the new bridge during his tenure at KCS already in his last months at the helm of the company prior to the merger with CP, died in July 2024, and in a posthumous tribute to his memory, CPKC's directors decided to name the new bridge after the former CEO and President of KCS.[4]
References
edit- ^ Stephens, Bill (April 21, 2023). "CPKC to handle Schneider's cross-border intermodal shipments between the Midwest and Mexico". Trains. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
- ^ Stephens, Bill. "Canadian Pacific, Kansas City Southern merger to redraw Class I railroad map". Trains Magazine. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
- ^ Sebastian, Brett (November 17, 2022). "Second International Rail Bridge to Keep Laredo Bustling | GoRail". gorail.org. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
- ^ Stephens, Bill (December 17, 2024). "CPKC completes second span over the Rio Grande at the Laredo gateway". Trains. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
