CANADIAN Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and the Lanco Group/Mi-Jack have sold the Panama Canal Railway Company (PCRC) to APM Terminals, a global container terminal operator and an independent division of Danish shipping line AP Moller-Maersk. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.
PCRC provides ocean-to-ocean freight and passenger services along the Panama Canal and has been a 50:50 joint venture of CPKC subsidiary Kansas City Southern (KCS) and Lanco Group/Mi-Jack since its formation in 1998. In 2024, PCRC generated revenue of $US 77m and recorded an Ebitda of $US 36m.
PCRC was formed in 1997 when KCS and Mi-Jack Products were awarded a concession from the government of Panama to reconstruct and operate the 76.6km Panama Canal Railway.
CPKC president and CEO, Keith Creel, says the sale is consistent with the Class 1 railway’s strategy of optimising assets and focusing on its North American business. Keith Svendsen, CEO, APM Terminals, adds that the investment is aligned with the company’s “core services of intermodal container movement.”
“The company is highly regarded for its operational excellence and will provide a significant opportunity for us to offer a broader range of services to the global shipping customers we serve,” Svendsen says.
The railway runs across the Isthmus of Panama from Colón on the Atlantic coast to Balboa on the Pacific, near Panama City. Construction began in 1850 and the first service operated in 1855, preceding the opening of the Panama Canal by 59 years.
The railway proved vital in supporting the construction of the canal in the early 1900s. However, it largely fell into disrepair following the Second World War, until 1997 when KCS won the concession to rehabilitate and reopen the line to haul intermodal traffic. The railway reopened in 2001, and as well as freight, PCRC has operates passenger services between Panama City and Colón.
