Kansas City Southern Announces Results of 18th Annual Holiday Express Fundraising Campaign

Kansas City Southern (KCS) (NYSE: KSU) announced today that its 18th annual Holiday Express will distribute a total of $171,756 in gift cards to The Salvation Army at stops along the route. The gift cards are designated for the purchase of warm clothing and other necessities for kids in need.

“KCS looks forward to bringing Santa 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 to each community where the train will stop,” said KCS president and chief executive officer Patrick J. Ottensmeyer. “This project brings people together, helps build relationships in the community and supports our corporate vision and values.”

Special thanks to the major sponsors who helped make this year’s charitable contribution possible, including APL Logistics Americas Ltd, Bartlett Grain/Savage Enterprises, Deanne Porter and Patrick Ottensmeyer, Husch Blackwell LLP, Kansas City Southern Historical Society, Michael and Marlys Haverty Family Foundation, Precision Waste Solutions, L.L.C., RailPros, Sirius, Cisco Systems, Inc., The Kansas City Southern Charitable Fund, Wabtec Unitrac Railroad Materials and Watco Companies. Additional sponsors are listed on the KCS website.

The train will stop in 22 communities in eight states on 27 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 boxcar; 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 segment of the network 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 to the experience that communities throughout KCS' U.S. service territory enjoy today.

Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., Kansas City Southern (KCS) (NYSE: KSU) 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 Lázaro Cárdenas, 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 with other North American rail partners are primary components of a unique railway system, linking the commercial and industrial centers of the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181108005069/en/

Kansas City SouthernC. Doniele Carlson, 816-983-1372