Kansas City Southern Railroad

The Kansas City Southern Railway Company

System map (trackage rights in purple)
A Kansas City Train EMD SD50 on the point of a train headed North to Oceanside.
Reporting mark	KCS
Locale	Midwest United States Gulf of Mexico
Dates of operation	1887 (1887)–Present
Predecessor	Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length	3,226 mi (5,192 km)
Headquarters	Kansas City, Missouri

The Kansas City Southern Railway Company (reporting mark KCS), owned by Kansas City Southern, is the smallest and third-oldest Class I railroad in North America (just behind Union Pacific Railroad and Canadian Pacific Railway) still in operation. KCS was founded in 1887 and is currently operating in a region consisting of ten central U.S. states. KCS also owns and indirectly operates Kansas City Southern de México (KCSM) in the central and northeastern states of Mexico, and is the only Class I Railroad to own any track both inside and outside of Mexico's boundaries (Ferromex is the only other Class I operating in Mexico). Including all trackage owned by wholly owned subsidiaries, KCS owns a total of approximately 9,600 kilometers (6,000 route miles) of track.

Kansas City Southern is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. Annual revenues as of 2007^[update] were US$1.7 billion with 6,485 employees, and a market cap of roughly US$5 billion. As of first quarter 2008^[update], KCS's CEO was Michael R. Haverty. As of August 1, 2010, Dave Starling was named the new CEO of KCS, having been both a close friend of Haverty and an important spokesperson to the railroad since 2008. Kansas City Southern company stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol KSU.

KCS also owns a handful of non-core businesses. These minor subsidiaries, holding companies or minority investments (investments in which KCS has less than 50 percent ownership), have few employees and serve to support the rail operation. These include Canama Transportation, Caymex Transportation, Inc., Rosenberg Regional LLC, Joplin Union Depot, Kansas City Terminal Railway, Port Arthur Bulk Marine Terminal Co. and Veals, Inc.