Kansas City Southern (KCS) announced it is developing a vehicle distribution center in Mexico that aims to speed up multimodal cross-border deliveries of finished vehicles across North America. The Central Bajío Vehicle Distribution Center (VDC) will be located about 25 miles east of the city of Querétaro, in the central Bajío region, home to the largest concentration of automakers and parts suppliers in the country. One goal is to speed the turnaround for multi-level rail cars making a round trip between the U.S. and Mexico, improving the availability of rail cars in the region. The Central Bajío VDC will be located on 125 acres, with up to 57 acres available for finished vehicles. The facility will initially include 1,000 vehicle bays and capacity for 36 railcars. The VDC could eventually include up to 6,500 vehicle bays, capacity for 134 railcars, with 60 unloading positions, and storage for up to 10,000 vehicles. It will also include unit train service and direct truck access between Mexico City, Guadalajara and the Bajío region.
KCS is partnering with Suministros Industriales Potosinos SA de CV (SIPSA) and TransDevelopment Group (TDG) to develop the Central Bajío VDC. It will be developed, owned, and operated by SIPSA and TDG. New York Air Brake Corp., a manufacturer of air brake and train control systems for the global railroad industry, announced it will open a new manufacturing operation in Acuña, Mexico. The facility is part of its restructuring strategy for its North American manufacturing operations. As part of the restructuring, the company is laying off 125 workers out of 400 at its Watertown, New York plant, and shifting production to three other U.S. locations. The plant in Acuña will begin production by the end of the year, hiring up to 350 people. Acuña is located along the U.S.-Mexico border, just across the Rio Grande River from Del Rio, Texas.