Union Pacific to lease 1.25 miles of Kansas City trackage to new short line railroad

Union Pacific to lease 1.25 miles of Kansas City trackage to new short line railroad

By Bill Stephens | February 20, 2025

| Last updated on August 6, 2025


Jaguar Transport’s Kansas City West Bottoms Railroad will serve local industries

The Kansas City West Bottoms Railroad will operate trackage leased from Union Pacific. Jaguar Transport via STB

WASHINGTON — Union Pacific will lease 1.25 miles of trackage in Kansas City, Mo., to a new Jaguar Transport short line next month.

The Kansas City West Bottoms Railroad will serve a cluster of customers located off UP’s KC Metro Big Mary Subdivision between milepost 0.63 and milepost 1.60 in Kansas City, according to a regulatory filing. KCWB also will lease and operate the adjacent State Line Yard trackage.

“Union Pacific and Jaguar Transport are excited about the growth potential of the … short line railroad and the positive impact that the operation will have on local industries,” UP spokeswoman Robynn Tysver says.

The deal — the second transfer this year of UP local switching operations to a short line — is scheduled to take effect on or after March 2.

UP is handing off local and yard operations in Eugene, Ore., to Genesee & Wyoming short line Central Oregon & Pacific [see “Central Oregon & Pacific will operate …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 11, 2024

Jaguar representatives did not respond to an email requesting additional information about the Kansas City transaction. Jaguar currently operates 15 short lines, including industrial switching agreements.

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