OMAHA, Neb. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection will allow the Eagle Pass, Texas, railroad gateway to reopen at midnight tonight after a visit by a delegation of Union Pacific executives led by CEO Jim Vena.
The bridge linking Eagle Pass with Ferromex at Piedras Negras, Mexico, has been closed since Wednesday due to the influx of thousands of migrants crossing the border. U.S. officials shut the bridge down two days after Ferromex suspended northbound traffic for safety reasons following the deaths and serious injuries to several migrants who attempted to hop freight trains to the U.S. border.
The shutdown brought rail traffic to a standstill at the second-busiest gateway to Mexico. Eagle Pass handled a total of 16 UP and BNSF Railway trains per day in August, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Vena, UP President Beth Whited, Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Hamann, and leaders from the corporate relations, marketing and sales, and operations teams visited Eagle Pass to see the migrant crisis firsthand, understand its impact, and identify ways to resume operations, UP said.
Two dozen trains with 2,400 cars total were being held north and south of the border, UP said. Commodities held up included agricultural, food, and beverages; finished vehicles; consumer goods; and industrial products, UP said.
“Seeing and hearing the depth of this humanitarian crisis firsthand – versus watching from thousands of miles away – was sobering,” UP said. “When they arrived at the border crossing rail bridge, the team witnessed a family of three attempting to cross. The mother had a small baby in her arms and fell into the razor wire, and a man was swimming across the river with a child on his back – the scene was heartbreaking to witness.”
After leaving the bridge, railroad officials met with more than 20 stakeholders and first responders, including Mayor Rolando Salinas, Maverick County Judge Ramsey English Cantu, CBP interim port director Pete Beattie, the assistant fire chief, police chief, border patrol, and several members of their teams.
“The gravity of the humanitarian crisis is beyond any one community or company,” UP said. “This complex crisis requires significant intervention and support from policymakers in Washington, D.C.”
UP donated $100,000 to the mayor of Eagle Pass to use as he sees fit to address the complex and significant issues the city of 28,000 is facing with thousands of migrants crossing the Rio Grande every day this week.
Railroad officials, including Vena, are contacting members of Congress and the Biden Administration today and over the weekend to underscore the impact of the migrant crisis on UP operations and the economy.
