Following 28 years of joint ownership, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and the Lanco Group/Mi-Jack have sold the Panama Canal Railway Company (PCRC) to APM Terminals, a global terminal operator and an independent division of A.P. Moller – Maersk.
PCRC provides ocean-to-ocean freight and passenger services along the Panama Canal and has been a 50/50 joint venture between CPKC subsidiary Kansas City Southern and Lanco Group/Mi-Jack since its formation in 1998. In 2024, the PCRC generated revenue of U.S.$77 million and EBITDA of U.S.$36 million. PCRC was formed in 1997 when KCS and Mi-Jack Products were awarded a concession from the Republic of Panama to reconstruct and operate the 47.6-mile Panama Canal Railway.
BofA Securities, Inc. and Lazard Frères & Co. are serving as financial advisors to PCRC, CPKC and Lanco Group/Mi-Jack, and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is serving as legal counsel.
“We are pleased to have completed this transaction with APM Terminals, a key strategic partner of CPKC’s and major customer of the Panama Canal Railway Company,” said Keith Creel, CPKC President and Chief Executive Officer. “The sale of this non-core asset creates value for our shareholders and reflects our commitment to optimize our assets as we focus on growing our core North American rail business through our unrivalled three-nation network connecting Canada, the United States and Mexico.”
“Lanco is very proud to have worked with CPKC and A.P. Moller – Maersk over the past several years,” said Mike Lanigan, Chief Executive Officer of Lanco Group/Mi-Jack. “Keith Creel and his group have been a pleasure to work with and I wish to congratulate APM Terminals on the purchase of the Panama Canal Railway. As we all know, Panama is a major transportation hub, and I am quite confident the container business will continue to grow under the leadership of APM Terminals.”
“PCRC represents an attractive infrastructure investment in the region aligned to our core services of intermodal container movement,” said Keith Svendsen, CEO, APM Terminals. “The company is highly regarded for its operational excellence and will provide a significant opportunity for us to offer a broader range of services to the global shipping customers we serve.”
HISTORY
The Panama Canal Railway (Ferrocarril de Panamá) stretches 47.6 miles across the Isthmus of Panama from Colón (Atlantic Ocean) to Balboa (Pacific Ocean, near Panama City). Its construction, which cost $8 million ($177 million in 2025 dollars) was renowned as an international engineering achievement. The United States built the original line; the principal incentive was the huge increase in passenger and freight traffic from the Eastern United States to California following the 1849 California Gold Rush. Construction began in 1850; the first revenue train operated over the full length on Jan. 28, 1855. Known as the Panama Railroad Company when founded, it preceded the Panama Canal by half a century and was vital in assisting its construction in the early 1900s. Following World War II, the railroad’s importance declined, and much of it fell into disrepair until 1997, when Kansas City Southern, under the leadership of Mike Haverty, and Mi-Jack Products, led by Mike Lanigan, won a concession from the Panamanian government and in 1999 embarked on a rebuilding project to haul intermodal traffic. The rebuilt railroad opened in 2001. Primarily dedicated to freight transport, PCRC has also operated a passenger service between Panama City and Colón.
Further Reading: A Man, a Plan, a Canal Railway
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