The CG Railway is a

terminal railroad A switching and terminal railroad is a freight railroad company whose primary purpose is to perform local switching services or to own and operate a terminal facility. Switching is a type of operation done within the limits of a yard. It genera ...

as reported by the

Association of American Railroads The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is an industry trade group representing primarily the major freight Rail transport, railroads of North America (Canada, Mexico and the United States). Amtrak and some regional Commuter rail in North Am ...

. The CGR is headquartered in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

, and is owned and operated by a 50/50 joint venture between

SEACOR Holdings SEACOR Holdings, based in Fort Lauderdale, provides equipment and services to the offshore petroleum industry and the marine transportation industry. History SEACOR was founded in 1989 by Charles Fabrikant. In December 1989, the company acquir ...

and

Genesee & Wyoming Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) is an American short line railroad holding company, that owns or maintains an interest in 122 railroads in the United States, Canada, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom and formerly Australia. It operates ...

. The railroad operates an approximate

train ferry A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train f ...

between the

Port of Mobile The Port of Mobile is a deep-water port in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It is the only deep-water port in Alabama. It was ranked by the United States Army Corps of Engineers as the 9th largest port by tonnage in the nation during 2014, with ...

at Mobile, Alabama, and the Port of Coatzacoalcos in

Coatzacoalcos Coatzacoalcos () is a major port city in the southern part of the Mexican state of Veracruz, mostly on the western side of the Coatzacoalcos River estuary, on the Bay of Campeche, on the southern Gulf of Mexico coast. The city serves as the munic ...

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

. It began operations in 2000 out of Mobile, Alabama. In 2004 the railroad moved its American port to

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. The

Port of New Orleans The Port of New Orleans is an embarkation port for cruise passengers. It is also Louisiana’s only international container port. The port generates $100 million in revenue annually through its four lines of business – cargo (46%), rail (31%) ...

facility was heavily damaged by

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

in 2005. In 2007 the

Alabama State Port Authority (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

agreed to construct a state of the art $19 million rail-ferry

terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together * Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output dev ...

at the Port of Mobile. The CGR connects with

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway (U.S.), Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the ...

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

, and

Alabama and Gulf Coast Railway The Alabama and Gulf Coast Railway is a Class II railroad owned by Genesee & Wyoming. It operates of track from the Pensacola, Florida export terminals, west of downtown, north to Columbus, Mississippi, with trackage rights along BNSF Railway ...

all at Mobile, Alabama, and

Ferrocarril del Sureste The Ferrocarril del Sureste , commonly known as Ferrosur, is a railway that serves the southeastern regions of Mexico. The company was formed in 1998 following the privatization of Mexico's railways. Ferrosur took over the southeast concession. ...

at Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz. The railroad operates two double deck rail-ferries. The vessels ''

MV Cherokee MV may refer to: Businesses and organizations In transportation * Motor vessel, a motorized ship; used as a prefix for ship names * MV Agusta, a motorcycle manufacturer based in Cascina Costa, Italy * Armenian International Airways (IATA code MV ...

'' and ''

MV Banda Sea MV may refer to: Businesses and organizations In transportation * Motor vessel, a motorized ship; used as a prefix for ship names * MV Agusta, a motorcycle manufacturer based in Cascina Costa, Italy * Armenian International Airways (IATA code MV ...

'' operate between the two ports up to four times a week. 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 Bennett Offshore, L.L.C., is an independent naval architecture, design and consulting firm founded in 1997 by William T. Bennett, Jr., to deliver engineering services to the offshore industry. Bennett headquarters are located in Houston, Texas, an ...

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 An inclined plane, also known as a ramp, is a flat supporting surface tilted at an angle from the vertical direction, with one end higher than the other, used as an aid for raising or lowering a load. The inclined plane is one of the six clas ...

at each dock to allow rail cars to be loaded on both decks. Railcar loading and unloading is performed by the

Terminal Railway Alabama State Docks The Terminal Railway Alabama State Docks is a terminal railroad according to the AAR. It operates on about of track and is a subsidiary of the Alabama State Port Authority located at the Port of Mobile in Mobile, Alabama. Connections * Alaba ...

at Mobile and by

at Coatzacoalcos. The railroad operates two trackmobiles at each port to help with loading and unloading of railcars.Terminal press release
/ref>CG Railway Official Website
/ref> The CGR transports approximately 10,000 railcars annually, carrying commodities such as chemicals & plastics, fructose & refined sugar, steel and pulp & paper.

References

External links

*
New ferry

Launch of new ferry, delivery of second
{{US Class III - Alabama Alabama railroads Switching and terminal railroads Railway companies of Mexico Standard gauge railways in Mexico Train ferries Genesee & Wyoming

See also

References

External links