(The following story by John D. Boyd appeared on The Journal of Commerce website on March 8, 2010.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Kansas City Southern bought the Puerta Mexico intermodal terminal facility about 40 miles west of Mexico City at Toluca, and plans soon to start running trains to it from the Pacific Ocean container port of Lazaro Cardenas.
KCS did not give details of the purchase. A Web site for the Puerta Mexico facility listed it as a unit of Ports America, with multi-modal freight processing, on-site customs clearance and bonded warehousing.
David L. Starling, KCS president and chief operating officer, said “Puerta Mexico is well-positioned on KCS’ international intermodal corridor, making it a valuable enhancement for our cross border service offering.”
The terminal has access to the Kansas City Southern de Mexico rail line, on the route to KCS’ border crossing at Nuevo Laredo and Laredo, Texas. There, KCSM connects to the Kansas City Southern Railway system in the U.S.
“The growth of manufacturing activity and international trade flows in the Mexico City area is increasing the demand for modern, multi-modal terminals in Mexico’s industrial heartland,” said Patrick J. Ottensmeyer, KCS executive vice president for sales and marketing.
“The strategic location and modern facilities at Puerta Mexico will allow KCS to better serve these growing markets,” he said. The terminal, on 130 acres, can handle an estimated 150,000 containers and two million plus tons of cargo a year.