Private infrastructure technology company Green Corridors, LLC has received White House approval through an Executive Order issued earlier this month, “to construct, maintain and operate” an autonomous 165-mile cross-border electric freight line between Laredo, Texas and Monterrey, Mex. Laredo is one of the busiest land trade crossings in the United States, handling almost 45 per cent of all Texas-Mexico trade.
Green Corridor’s Intelligent Freight Transportation System (IFTS) could become the most advanced overland freight infrastructure deployment in North America and would represent one of the largest private sector infrastructure efforts in the region. The project is currently estimated to have a cost of $10 billion.
Presidential approval comes at a time when tariff discussions between the United States and Mexico are undergoing review, with Texas businesses hoping for a happy outcome.
Glenn Hamer, CEO of the Texas Association of Business, told LaPresse in an interview that the organization fully supports the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (CUSMA).
“We firmly believe that CUSMA is the best trade agreement ever negotiated in U.S. history. We want North America to be a tariff-free zone, where we build products with Canada and Mexico.”
With the U.S. Department of State, Customs and Border Protection and international stakeholders now fully engaged with the White House in support of the rail link proposal, much of Mexico-U.S. freight traffic might soon move more smoothly and efficiently.
“This project represents a paradigm shift in transportation with our largest trading partner,” Green Corridors CEO Mitch Carlson told the Wall Street Journal. “By separating freight from public traffic, we can significantly reduce transportation costs and solve serious congestion and safety issues.”
Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) is a somewhat flexible term that describes constantly evolving new technologies and applications that manage movements within vehicle, marine and rail infrastructure. It is already being applied on road and highway networks in many cities around the world like Stockholm, London and Singapore to reduce congestion and accidents.
ITS has also been used in Europe for many years to help manage passenger rail systems, using sensors, GPS, cameras and wireless communication to improve freight traffic flow. Green Corridors will combine these with their own suite of proprietary technology that includes automated inland terminals, a fleet of autonomous freight shuttles and elevated guideway infrastructure to move semi-truck trailers and sea containers across the Mexico-U.S. border.
The company says elevating the system above intersections, people and traffic will allow freight to move freely without congestion, bypassing the gridlock and delays that are typical on highway truck routes. Using electric shuttles powered by renewable energy, emissions will also be reduced across the entire freight route.
“Our transportation network has become overburdened and outdated. It fails to address modern challenges,” Green Corridors says. “Rising costs, disruptions and environmental damage are putting businesses and communities at risk. Unpredictable delays and inefficient routes drive up supply chain costs and complicate logistics management.”
By re-routing freight traffic and employing intelligent fleets of autonomous shuttles and fully-automated inland terminals, the company promises faster connections and more effective use of current infrastructure.
As reported by Yahoo Finance, initial funding for the Green Corridors project will come from a consortium of private-sector leaders, infrastructure partners and logistics innovators including the Swinbank Family Office in Houston, Druker Capital, and the Chang Robotics Fund. Ongoing operations will be supported by fees charged to customers moving their freight through the system.
Not only will 100 per cent of northbound freight entering the country be scanned automatically, resulting in faster inspection times, Carlson told Newsweek that Green Corridors will also address security issues between the two trading partners, such as “terrorists, human trafficking and drug smuggling.”
The company now plans to begin environmental reviews and technical assessments later this year and will simultaneously engage in negotiations with county officials along the route. If talks are successful and permits and funding are secured, construction could begin in 2026, with operations commencing in 2031.
