Kansas City Southern Announces Results of 16th Annual Holiday Express Fundraising Campaign
KANSAS CITY, Mo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Kansas City Southern (KCS) (NYSE: KSU) announced today that its 16th
annual Holiday Express will distribute a total of $153,290 in gift cards
to The Salvation Army at stops along the Holiday Express route. The gift
cards are designated for the purchase of warm clothing and other
necessities for kids in need.
“On behalf of the employees of Kansas City Southern, we look forward to
bringing Santa Claus and his elves on the Holiday Express train to
communities throughout our U.S. service territory, and we are especially
pleased to continue the tradition of charitable giving in each community
where the train will stop,” said KCS president and chief executive
officer Patrick J. Ottensmeyer.
Special thanks to the major sponsors who helped make this year’s
charitable contribution possible, including Bartlett Grain, Burris
Logistics, The Kansas City Southern Charitable Fund, Kansas City
Southern Historical Society, Michael and Marlys Haverty Family
Foundation, Patrick Ottensmeyer Family Fund, R.J. Corman Railroad Group,
Steel Dynamics and Watco Companies. Additional sponsors
are listed on the KCS website.
The train will stop in 22 communities in seven states on 26 dates. The
complete schedule
is available on the KCS website. At each stop, visitors can board the
train, visit with Santa and his elves and tour the inside of three cars
of the festive six-car train. Each event is free and open to the public.
Led by KCS’ Southern Belle business train, the Holiday Express train
includes a smiling tank car “Rudy”; a flatcar carrying Santa’s sleigh,
reindeer and a miniature village; a gingerbread box car; an elves’
workshop; the reindeer stable; and a little red caboose. Each car is
dressed in lights.
The KCS Holiday Express was built on the tradition of the Santa Train,
which ran on a rail line bought by KCS in 1997. In 2000, a group of
warm-hearted KCS employees noticed that the Santa Train was the only
Christmas some kids had, and that some kids did not have essential items
like coats, hats and gloves, so they committed to elevating the project.
In 2001, volunteers transformed a retired freight train into the
experience that communities enjoy today.
Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., KCS is a transportation holding
company that has railroad investments in the U.S., Mexico and Panama.
Its primary U.S. holding is The Kansas City Southern Railway Company,
serving the central and south central U.S. Its international holdings
include Kansas City Southern de Mexico, S.A. de C.V., serving
northeastern and central Mexico and the port cities of Lazaro Cardenas,
Tampico and Veracruz, and a 50 percent interest in Panama Canal Railway
Company, providing ocean-to-ocean freight and passenger service along
the Panama Canal. KCS’ North American rail holdings and strategic
alliances are primary components of a NAFTA Railway system, linking the
commercial and industrial centers of the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
Contacts
Kansas City Southern
C. Doniele Carlson, 816-983-1372
