 | |
 KCS system map (trackage rights in purple), including KCSM. | |
 KCS 3999, an EMD SD70ACe | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Parent company | Kansas City Southern Canadian Pacific Kansas City |
| Headquarters | Kansas City, Missouri |
| Reporting mark | KCS |
| Locale | Midwestern and Southeastern United States |
| Founder | Arthur Stillwell |
| Dates of operation | 1887–2023 |
| Predecessor | Kansas City Suburban Belt Railroad Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad |
| Successor | CPKC |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | 3,984 miles (6,412 km) |
| Other | |
| Website | kcsouthern.com |
The Kansas City Southern Railway Company (reporting mark KCS) was an American Class I railroad. Founded in 1887, it operated in 10 Midwestern and Southeastern U.S. states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. KCS owned the shortest north-south rail route between Kansas City, Missouri, and several key ports along the Gulf of Mexico.
The focus of the routes was the fastest way to connect Kansas City to seaports, since it was only 800 miles from Kansas City to the Gulf of Mexico compared to 1,400 miles between Kansas City and the Atlantic Ocean ports.[1]
KCS operated over a railroad system consisting of 3,984 route miles (6,412 km) that extended south to the Mexico–United States border at which point another KCS-operated railroad, Kansas City Southern de México (KCSM), hauled freight into northeastern and central Mexico and to several Gulf of Mexico ports and the Pacific Port of Lázaro Cárdenas.
Canadian Pacific Railway purchased KCS in December 2021 for US$31 billion. On April 14, 2023, KCS became a wholly owned subsidiary of CPR, and both companies began conducting business under the name of their parent company, Canadian Pacific Kansas City.[2]
- ^ "Collection: Records of the Kansas City Suburban Belt Railroad Company | Kenneth Spencer Research Library Archival Collections".
- ^ Reynolds, Christopher (April 14, 2023). "CP Rail, Kansas City Southern merger clears path for more cargo, but hitches remain". CBC News. Retrieved April 18, 2023.