Canadian Pacific's 2023 acquisition of Kansas City Southern established the only railroad with a direct route linking Canada, the United States and Mexico.

Judged as of August 2024. True if, by then, the combined Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) network, formed when CP's acquisition of KCS was completed (control approved by the STB in March 2023 and taken in April 2023), was the only railroad whose single-line network directly linked Canada, the United States and Mexico, and no other railroad had such a single-line route through all three countries. Mostly true if that is right but a detail is slightly off (for example the deal's timing or how the merger was carried out). Mixed if CPKC's network is the first or leading such line but another carrier arguably has a comparable three-country route through trackage or haulage rights. Mostly false if another railroad clearly operated a direct single-line Canada–US–Mexico route, so CPKC's was not unique but the claim rests on a real network. False if the acquisition did not create a network reaching all three countries.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 STB Approves CP/KCS Merger With Conditions and Extended Oversight Period - Surface Transportation Board Surface Transportation Board · 15 March 2023

   “CPKC will be the first railroad with single-line service through Canada, the United States, and Mexico.”

2. E2 Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern combine to create CPKC Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CNW/PRNewswire) · 14 April 2023 Own record

   “CPKC becomes the first and only single-line railway connecting Canada, the U.S. and Mexico”

3. E3 [PDF] in the united states district court for the - GovInfo.gov U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri (Order, No. 4:23-CV-00593-DGK) · 21 February 2024

   “CPKC moved the grain from North Dakota to Beaumont via their new single-line route that bypassed interchange in Kansas City.”

4. E4 Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern combine to create CPKC Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CNW/PRNewswire) · 14 April 2023 Own record

   “CP completed its US$31 billion acquisition of KCS on Dec. 14, 2021.”

The STB's March 2023 approval (E1) says CPKC would be the first railroad with single-line service through Canada, the United States and Mexico. This independently confirms that the combination created a new three-country single-line network with no earlier equivalent. On completion, the company described CPKC as the first and only such railway (E2), and none of the evidence points to a competing three-country single-line carrier as of August 2024. One detail is off: according to E4, CP completed its acquisition of KCS on 14 December 2021, while the STB approved the combination in March 2023 (E1). Calling it a "2023 acquisition" is therefore slightly inaccurate on timing.