railroad-train.jpg

KCS COVID-19 Business Update February 9, 2021

February 09, 2021

We first communicated to you regarding our efforts during the global pandemic in March 2020. Since this first communication, KCS has remained fully engaged and committed to all our stakeholders as we continue to work through this pandemic, never losing sight of our vision to be the fastest-growing, best-performing, most customer-focused transportation provider in North America. We recognize and do not take lightly that our employees and the services we provide are deemed essential both in the U.S. and Mexico.   

KCS has continued to operate based on our business continuity plan, which has become our “business as usual” plan, leveraging expert sources such as the CDC and both the US and Mexico governments to guide our decisions.  

The Mexican government has reinstated ‘shelter at home’ policies in high risk areas related to certain individuals who may be considered high risk of contracting COVID-19. Each state is assigned a stoplight signal color to indicate its level of COVID risk, which in turns triggers the ‘shelter at home’ policies and ultimately crew availability. We have adjusted our operations to allow for continued and uninterrupted service, however the current health decree has compromised the availability of crews in Mexico, sometimes with little to no notice, resulting in service delays.  

Here are some of the efforts we are doing to overcome these labor challenges due to the pandemic: 

  • Identifying additional available crews for service-compromised areas
  • Consolidating trains to increase overall efficiency in both the line of road and service within our yards, when possible.
  • Working closely with the Mexico union to provide additional support in areas where we are especially impacted including modifying crew consist requirements, relocating employees, and modifying some of our operating rules.  

We thank you for your patience as we make these adjustments.  

We continue to work through the outbreaks we are seeing within the U.S. and are closely monitoring the new administration’s plan for the pandemic so that we may adjust as needed should anything change.

The health and safety of our employees, customers (and their shipments) and the communities we serve remain our top priority. We understand your need to plan your logistics. You have our commitment to remain vigilant on correcting the current disruptions and to minimize the impact to your supply chain.  

We would like to thank our industry rail partners and customers for your collaboration and understanding during this time. 

Please feel free to refer to our website under Rail Resource Center for COVID-19 resources.