Eagle Pass May Become Key Player in Battle for Canada-Mexico Rail Trade

By Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2026 Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.

Eagle Pass could become an even more important gateway in the growing competition for Canada-Mexico rail freight as major North American railroads position themselves around the proposed Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern merger.

New filings before the Surface Transportation Board, combined with a binding agreement announced earlier this summer between Union Pacific and Canadian National Railway, specifically identify Eagle Pass as part of a new route designed to move freight between Canada and Mexico.

CN and Union Pacific announced July 22, 2026 that they had signed a binding Memorandum of Understanding granting CN new rights over Union Pacific’s rail network between Memphis, Tennessee, and Eagle Pass, Texas.

According to CN, the agreement is intended specifically to support freight movements between Canada and Mexico and expand CN’s access to the Mexican market.

The agreement gives Eagle Pass a potentially larger role in the competition among the major railroads for the growing North American freight market.

CN President and CEO Tracy Robinson said the arrangement would expand the railroad’s access to Mexico, open new routes for customers and strengthen connections between Canada and Mexico.

Union Pacific has similarly described the arrangement as creating another direct Canada-to-Mexico routing option through Eagle Pass.

The development comes as Union Pacific seeks federal approval for its proposed acquisition of Norfolk Southern, a massive transaction that would create a rail network stretching approximately 50,000 miles across 43 states.

The Surface Transportation Board is currently reviewing the merger under Docket FD 36873.

The federal agency has emphasized that its decision to proceed with reviewing the application does not mean the merger has been approved.

The Board’s Office of Environmental Analysis is also preparing an Environmental Impact Statement to examine potential consequences of the transaction.

According to the STB, the merger is expected to change rail traffic volumes across portions of the combined network, with some rail segments experiencing increases and others decreases.

Texas is among the states where operational changes could exceed federal thresholds requiring environmental review.

For Eagle Pass, however, another major development is occurring separately from the merger itself.

The CN agreement specifically identifies Union Pacific’s Memphis-to-Eagle Pass network as the route over which CN would receive new rights supporting Canada-Mexico freight.

That means freight could potentially move from Canada through CN’s network, connect with the Union Pacific corridor toward Texas, reach Eagle Pass and then continue into Mexico through connections with Mexican rail operations.

The arrangement does not mean CN is purchasing Union Pacific’s Eagle Pass railroad or taking control of the local rail corridor.

Instead, it provides CN with additional access rights designed to allow it to compete for Canada-Mexico business using the Union Pacific network leading to Eagle Pass.

The importance of the agreement resurfaced this week when CN and BNSF made separate filings with the Surface Transportation Board identifying competitive conditions they intend to pursue as regulators consider the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger.

Railway Age reported September 12, 2026 that CN’s filing builds upon the binding agreements reached with Union Pacific in July, including the agreement providing CN new rights over the Memphis-Eagle Pass network.

CN has said it will not oppose the proposed merger but is seeking conditions intended to preserve competition and customer choice.

BNSF has taken a much different position and remains opposed to the merger.

Eagle Pass has already surfaced in the broader dispute over railroad competition.
In a previous filing involving conditions from the 1996 Union Pacific-Southern Pacific merger, BNSF accused Union Pacific of engaging in conduct that interfered with competitive rights granted to BNSF.

Among the allegations reported by Railway Age was BNSF’s claim that Union Pacific had given preference to its own trains at the Eagle Pass border crossing into Mexico.

Union Pacific and BNSF have disputed issues involving the implementation of competitive protections stemming from the decades-old merger.

The latest developments place Eagle Pass in the middle of a much larger competition involving Union Pacific, CN, BNSF and other major North American railroads seeking access to international freight moving between the United States, Canada and Mexico.

However, the available documentation does not establish that Eagle Pass will immediately see a specific increase in the number of trains.
Neither CN’s announcement nor the latest STB filings provide a publicly established figure showing how many additional trains could eventually travel through Eagle Pass under the new arrangement.

What is documented is that CN has obtained an agreement for new rights over Union Pacific’s Memphis-Eagle Pass network specifically to support Canada-Mexico freight and that Union Pacific considers Eagle Pass part of another competitive Canada-Mexico routing option.

That distinction could become increasingly important locally.
Any significant increase in freight routed through Eagle Pass would have implications beyond international commerce because Union Pacific trains currently travel through the heart of the community before reaching the international railroad crossing.

More rail traffic could therefore raise questions involving railroad crossing delays, noise, emergency vehicle access, downtown neighborhoods and the capacity of existing rail infrastructure.

It also adds another dimension to discussions surrounding the future of international rail transportation in the Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras region, where proposals have been advanced to eventually move international freight rail traffic away from the existing urban crossing.

The Surface Transportation Board’s environmental review could provide additional information as the merger proceeding advances, particularly regarding projected changes in rail traffic across Texas.

For Eagle Pass, one of the most important questions remains unanswered.

How much additional Canada-Mexico freight could ultimately be routed through the Eagle Pass gateway as a result of these agreements and the changing structure of the North American railroad industry?

The answer could determine whether Eagle Pass becomes not only one of the country’s key international rail crossings, but an increasingly important battleground in the competition for Canada-Mexico trade.