The Brownsville & Rio Grande International Railway (BRG) ended 2020 riding an all-time high with 51,115 loaded railcars handled at the Port of Brownsville throughout the year.

This marks a 24 percent increase from the 41,207 railcar movements recorded in 2019, a considerable upward trend highlighted by growing movements of steel, wind energy components, grain and petroleum-based products.

Norma Torres, BRG president & COO, said the company is likely to continue handling a high volume of loaded railcars in 2021.

“We’ve hired additional staff in the transportation department and added three new management positions since October 2020,” said Torres. “We expect this year to exceed the numbers in the past and will hire more staff in the future.”

Formed in 1984 by the Brownsville Navigation District, the BRG provides consistent, safe and reliable service to Port of Brownsville users, operating on more than 45 miles of port rail. The shortline railroad provider offers the port and its customers access to three Class 1 railroads — Union Pacific, Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Kansas City Southern de Mexico for access into Mexico.

Since 2014, OmniTRAX Inc., under agreement, has managed the BRG enhancing services for port rail users while aiming to attract new shippers in the manufacturing and distribution industries.