The Brownsville & Rio Grande International Railway (BRG) received the Railroad of the Year Award after capping off a record-breaking year in 2018 for the movement of carloads.
The award was presented to Norma Torres, BRG president & COO; Fernando Gonzalez, BRG general manager; and Tony Chavez, BRG vice president of business development, during OmniTRAX’s annual National Leadership Meeting in February.
The recognition is given to the OmniTRAX-managed railroad that performs exceedingly well in each of six core company values.
“We are thrilled to receive this great honor and want to acknowledge that it wouldn’t be possible without the world’s greatest rail team back in Brownsville,” said Torres. “We also want to thank our many partners who helped make this possible – our shippers, the Port of Brownsville, the Class 1 railroads we interchange with and the U.S. and Mexican Customs.”
The BRG reported a nearly 20 percent increase in revenue for 2018 and has experienced a 25 percent year over year carload growth. In 2018, the BRG set a new company record for cars moved in a single year with 46,043 carloads handled by the short rail provider. The previous record was set back in 2006 when it moved 40,113 cars.
The company also scored at the top of the range for culture and values, honesty and trust and teamwork.
OmniTRAX CEO, Kevin Shuba said it was a close call as several other railroads the company manages also had great years in 2018.
“As great as our other rail lines did in 2018, one railroad stood out by pulling together all facets of safety, service, growth and productivity to separate itself from the many other outstanding performances. The BRG really was in a class by itself,” said Shuba.
The BRG provides a consistent, safe and reliable service to Port of Brownsville users with a near spotless safety record, with no non-reportable derailments for 2018 and no Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) reportable derailments since 2002.
Since 2014, OmniTRAX, Inc., under agreement with the Port of Brownsville, has managed the BRG enhancing services for port rail users and connecting shippers and the port to three Class 1 railroads: Union Pacific, BNSF Railway and Kansas City Southern de Mexico for access into Mexico.
