New Texas Rail Bypass Authorized to Reroute UP and BNSF Border Traffic

Green Eagle Railroad LLC has received Surface Transportation Board authorization. It allows the company to build and operate a 1.3-mile rail line. The line is in Eagle Pass and Maverick County, Texas. This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

Green Eagle Railroad approval and corridor scope

The decision, issued yesterday, covers one part of a broader Puerto Verde Holdings proposal. Puerto Verde Holdings is GER’s parent company. Also, the Surface Transportation Board says the larger project is intended to create a new trade corridor. It would handle freight trains and commercial motor vehicles. In addition, the corridor would connect Eagle Pass, the U.S.-Mexico border and Coahuila in Mexico.

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The approved rail segment would run from the U.S. side of the border. Also, it would connect with Union Pacific Railroad near UP’s Eagle Pass subdivision. GER says the route would move rail traffic and CMVs around Eagle Pass’s urban center. At the same time, GER says it would improve safety, security, capacity and fluidity.

Conditions before construction

The STB authorization is subject to environmental mitigation conditions. Still, construction cannot begin until GER reaches agreements with Union Pacific and BNSF Railway. Those agreements would shift existing freight traffic through Eagle Pass. The traffic would move to the new line after completion.

Separately, GER must keep the STB updated. Those updates must cover negotiations and construction progress.

The STB decision is available for download.

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