US shuts Eagle Pass, El Paso rail links to Mexico

North American railroads are urging US border officials to reopen rail crossings at Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, which were shut at 9am ET today in an effort to curtail migrant crossings, cutting into 24 trains/day of commodities, including crude, metals and agriculture.

US Customs and Border Protection temporarily suspended rail operations "to redirect personnel to assist the US Border Patrol with taking migrants into custody," the agency said.

There has been "a recent resurgence of smuggling organizations moving migrants through Mexico via freight trains," the agency said on Sunday in advance of the closure. Rail operations at Eagle Pass had been shut for two days in September for similar reasons.

Major western railroad Union Pacific (UP) said "this is a complex humanitarian crisis," but most migrants are not crossing the border on trains. The railroads use their employees, police force, and technology to seek out people and contraband before they reach the US.

Class I railroads UP and BNSF move trains through Eagle Pass and El Paso. The two railroads combined cross about 24 trains/day at Eagle Pass and El Paso, moving crude, agricultural products, automotive parts, finished vehicles, chemicals and consumer goods.

The closure only affects two locations, but parts of the entire North American rail network may be affected as carriers interchange railcars on a regular basis, sometimes moving them from Mexico to the US and then to Canada and vice versa.

UP called for the crossings to reopen immediately, saying that for every day the border is closed, the railroad must embargo more than 60 trains, or nearly 4,500 rail cars, with an equivalent of goods being held in Mexico.

"There isn't enough capacity at our other four gateways to reroute them," UP said on Monday. "The longer this closure is in effect, the more difficult it will be for cross-border trade to resume."

The Association of American Railroads (AAR), which includes US- and Mexico-based railroads among its members, said there was an urgent need to reopen the crossings.

"There are not separate US and Mexican rail networks; there is only one interconnected North American rail network," AAR chief executive Ian Jefferies said on Monday. "Every day the border remains closed unleashes a cascade of delay across operations on both sides of the border, impacting customers and ultimately consumers."

BNSF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

By Abby Caplan