CG Railway

CG Railway
MV Bali Sea (No longer in service) loads up with Ferrosur trains in Coatzacoalcos. Note the two towers that allow vertical adjustment of the linkspan.
Overview
HeadquartersMobile, Alabama
Reporting markCGR[1]
LocaleMobile, Alabama, United States 30°43.3956′N 88°2.673′W / 30.7232600°N 88.044550°W / 30.7232600; -88.044550
Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico 18°7.5852′N 94°25.17′W / 18.1264200°N 94.41950°W / 18.1264200; -94.41950
Dates of operation2000–present
Technical
Length900 miles (780 nmi; 1,400 km)
Other
Websitecgrailway.com
Route map

Legend
to
Alabama & Gulf Coast, BNSF,
Canadian National, CPKC,
CSX,
Norfolk Southern
Mobile, Alabama dock
Gulf of Mexico train ferry
(approximately
900 mi
1448 km
)
Coatzacoalcos dock
Port of Coatzacoalcos
to Ferrocarril del Sureste
This diagram:

The CG Railway (reporting mark CGR) is a terminal railroad as reported by the Association of American Railroads. The CGR is headquartered in Mobile, Alabama, and is owned and operated by a 50/50 joint venture between SEACOR Holdings and Genesee & Wyoming.[2] The railroad operates an approximate 900-mile (780 nmi; 1,400 km) train ferry between the Port of Mobile at Mobile, Alabama, and the Port of Coatzacoalcos in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz. It began operations in 2000 out of Mobile, Alabama. In 2004 the railroad moved its American port to New Orleans, Louisiana. The Port of New Orleans facility was heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In 2007 the Alabama State Port Authority agreed to construct a state of the art $19 million rail-ferry terminal at the Port of Mobile.[3] The CGR connects with CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, BNSF Railway, Canadian National Railway, and Alabama and Gulf Coast Railway all at Mobile, Alabama, and Ferrocarril del Sureste at Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz.

The railroad operates two double deck rail-ferries.[4] The vessels MV Cherokee[5][6] and MV Banda Sea[7] operate between the two ports up to four times a week.[2] Because the Banda Sea had been originally built with a single cargo deck, the vessel was limited to carrying rail cars on its main deck. In 2004, CGR contracted Naval Architects Bennett & Associates to increase the Banda Sea's carrying capacity by adding a second deck. The Banda Sea is capable of carrying 115 railcars. Bennett & Associates also designed a bilevel adjustable ramp at each dock to allow rail cars to be loaded on both decks.[8] Railcar loading and unloading is performed by the Terminal Railway Alabama State Docks at Mobile and by Ferrocarril del Sureste at Coatzacoalcos. The railroad operates two trackmobiles at each port to help with loading and unloading of railcars.[3][9] The CGR transports approximately 10,000 railcars annually, carrying commodities such as chemicals & plastics, fructose & refined sugar, steel and pulp & paper.[2]

  1. ^ "Reporting Marks: C". Retrieved 2010-05-23.
  2. ^ a b c "Genesee & Wyoming and SEACOR Form Joint Venture to Own and Operate Rail Ferry Service, CG Railway, Between the U.S. and Mexico". Genesee & Wyoming. 5 September 2017. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Terminal press release" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
  4. ^ Stephens, Bill (October 2022). "CG Railway: Where trains go to sea". Trains. Kalmbach. pp. 34–41.
  5. ^ MV Cherokee
  6. ^ New ferry
  7. ^ Banda Sea
  8. ^ Bennett & Associates Website
  9. ^ CG Railway Official Website