Automotive

Fort Worth → Mexico City

USDAL · MXMEX · 1,900 km

Operated by CPKC

Starter rate
USD 1,750–USD 3,000
per 40-ft equivalent

Transit

Scheduled
4 d
Departures
10/wk
Average wait
0.4 d
Door-ready
4.4 d

Door-ready adds half the gap between departures — the average wait if your cargo becomes ready at a random moment. On a 10-a-week service that is 0.4 days, and it is the figure a road-versus-rail comparison usually leaves out.

Legs and handovers

A single through leg — no gauge break and no operator handover en route.

  1. 1
    Dallas Alliance → Mexico City Pantaco
    CPKC · Standard (1435 mm) · 1,900 km · 4 d

Track gauge and borders

The spacing between the rails — whether the wheels can run through, or the load has to change trains.

Countries crossed
US → MX
Gauge changes
None — through running
Origin gauge
Standard (1435 mm)
Destination gauge
Standard (1435 mm)

Loading gauge clearance

The height and width of tunnels and bridges — whether the load fits through. A different constraint from track gauge above: this corridor can have no gauge break at all and still refuse a high-cube container.

Governing profile AAR Plate C · 4724 mm

Set by MX, the narrowest network on the route. One restrictive tunnel anywhere caps the whole journey regardless of how generous the rest is. Universal across the continental network. Single-stack intermodal.

US · plate-h MX · plate-c
40ft standard (8'6") on a container flat
Clears +978 mm
High-cube (9'6") on a container flat
Clears +673 mm
Swap body on a container flat
Clears +899 mm
P400 semi-trailer on a pocket wagon
Clears +454 mm

Profiles are the published maxima for each network's core freight routes. Individual lines differ in both directions, so a load within 50 mm of the limit needs the operator to confirm the specific path. Compare wagon deck heights →

Emissions

−63% 23 vs 62 gCO₂ per tonne-km

GLEC v3 planning estimate — not a regulatory declaration. Model your own payload with the transit calculator.

Single-line cross-border automotive service made possible by the CPKC merger — no interchange at the border.