CG Railway

CG Railway
MV Bali Sea loads up with Ferrosur trains in Coatzacoalcos, 1 October 2007
Reporting mark	CGR[1]
Locale	Mobile, Alabama and Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz via train ferry
Dates of operation	2000–present
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge)
Length	900 miles (1,400 km)
Headquarters	Mobile, Alabama
Website	cgrailway.com

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 the International Shipholding Corporation. The railroad operates an approximate 900-mile (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.^[2] The CGR connects with CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, BNSF Railway, Canadian National Railway, and Alabama Gulf Coast Railway all at Mobile, Alabama, and Ferrocarril del Sureste at Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz. The railroad operates two double deck rail-ferries capable of carrying 115 railcars each.

The vessels Bali Sea and Banda Sea operate between the two ports up to four times a week. Having been originally built with a single cargo deck, the vessels were limited to carrying rail cars on their main deck. In 2004, CGR contracted Naval Architects Bennett & Associates LLC to increase the vessels' carrying capacity by adding a second deck. Bennett & Associates also designed an articulating ramp at each dock to allow rail cars to be loaded on both decks.^[3] The CGR transports approximately 10,000 railcars annually. 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.^[2][4]

See also

• Isthmus of Tehuantepec

References

External links

• "CG Railway Official Website". Retrieved 2010-05-23. 

v t e Railroads of Alabama Common carriers ABS ABWR AF AGR AGS ALAB ATN AUT BAYL BS BNSF CGR CHAT CN COEH CSXT EARY GSWR HMCR IC KCS LXVR MNBR NS RRCI SQVR TASD TNHR TSRR WGCR Miscellaneous AMTK CSMX KMZ NARZ RRC SERX USSX Former carriers AG ACRC AFLR CHV GAAB GMSR HS JEFW PBRR SUAB TAG See also: List of United States railroads by political division