(The following report by Randolph Heaster appeared on the Kansas City Star website on June 6.)
KANSAS CITY — Kansas City Southern said Tuesday that it had applied for a $100 million federal loan to renovate one of its out-of-service Texas lines. The railroad is seeking a Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing loan from the Federal Railroad Administration for a route between Victoria and Rosenberg, Texas.
Rehabilitating the line would reduce Kansas City Southern’s U.S. route to Mexico by 70 miles, according to the railroad. It also would eliminate the need for Kansas City Southern to operate on a Union Pacific Railroad line between Victoria and Rosenberg.
Under the program, the U.S. Transportation Department’s railroad agency offers low-interest loans to railroads for infrastructure improvement projects and debt refinancing.