(Kansas City Southern issued the following news release on March 20.)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — KCSM 4650, the first locomotive to be painted with the Kansas City Southern’s new, heritage paint scheme, made an appearance at an event on Friday in San Luis Potosi. The new locomotive’s presence at the event accentuated the company’s commitment to investing in Mexico, while illustrating KCS and its subsidiaries’ bright future and reverence for its rich and colorful history. A formal unveiling event and photo opportunity will take place in Kansas City in April.
As part of an aggressive capital investment program in the U.S. and Mexico, the KCS subsidiaries have committed to purchase 30 Electro Motive Diesel SD70ACe locomotives and 30 General Electric Transportation System (GETS) ES44AC locomotives. The first 30 ES44ACs were delivered to Kansas City Southern de Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V. (KCSM) in primer in December 2006 and January 2007. KCS’ subsidiaries have signed letters of intent to purchase an additional 70 locomotives from Electro Motive Diesel and an additional 80 locomotives from GETS, all of which would receive the heritage paint scheme.
KCSM 4650 was painted by GETS in San Luis Potosi. A second unit, KCSM 4679, is being painted by Metro East Industries in East St. Louis, Ill. KCS 3997, an SD70ACe, will be the first U.S. unit bearing the new paint scheme. It is also being painted in East St. Louis. The remaining new locomotives will be delivered to KCS’ subsidiaries throughout 2007 and 2008.
The heritage paint scheme of vibrant yellow, red and Brunswick green (that appears to be black) is based upon that of the Southern Belle passenger trains that ran on The Kansas City Southern Railway Company (KCSR) between 1940 and 1969. The only difference between the newly painted units in the U.S. and Mexico will be the logo on the side of the locomotives’ nose and the added “de Mexico” on the side of the KCSM units. A similar scheme appears on the Panama Canal Railway Company’s (PCRC) freight and passenger locomotives.
KCS has also committed to purchase 1,050 covered hopper rail cars and 150 covered coil rail cars, which will receive a paint scheme complementary to the heritage theme. The first of 150 covered hoppers will be released on March 22 from American Railcar Industries in Paragould, Ark. The covered hoppers will be subleased to KCSM.
Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., KCS is a transportation holding company that has railroad investments in the U.S., Mexico and Panama. Its primary U.S. holding is KCSR, serving the central and south central U.S. Its international holdings include KCSM, serving northeastern and central Mexico and the port cities of Lázaro Cárdenas, Tampico and Veracruz, and a 50 percent interest in PCRC, providing ocean-to-ocean freight and passenger service along the Panama Canal. KCS’ North American rail holdings and strategic alliances are primary components of a NAFTA Railway system, linking the commercial and industrial centers of the U.S., Mexico and Canada.