The U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) has approved applications from two North American railroads to buy the rail lines operated by G&W’s Meridian & Bigbee Railroad, L.L.C. (MNBR), to create a new interchange in Alabama that will connect rail shippers in Mexico, Texas and the Southeast U.S.

CSX Corporation (CSX), Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), and Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) today said the now-approved transaction, which was previously announced in June 2023, will see CPKC acquiring and operating the 52-mile segment between Meridian, Mississippi, and Myrtlewood, Alabama, while CSX will operate the lines currently operated by MNBR east of Myrtlewood. MNBR will continue to provide local service to customers between Meridian and Myrtlewood.

“With this new east-west Class I route, we are creating competition, providing a service that will take more trucks off the road, and growing rail transportation by expanding markets across the southern U.S., from Dallas to Atlanta and beyond,” said Keith Creel, CPKC president and CEO.