(NAFB) – Canadian National Railway has placed an order for 1,000 new generation, high-capacity grain hopper cars.

The new railcars, to be built in Mexico, will help meet the growing needs of North American grain farmers and the demands of grain customers. The order is part of a larger program to build and renew a fleet of 6,000 hopper railcars over the next three years. CN recently made a formal offer to acquire Kansas City Southern.

The combination would extend the span of CN’s network from Canada and the U.S. into Mexico, making it the first railroad to link North America’s three national economies. CN President and CEO JJ Ruest states the railcars “will help move more grain across the CN rail network, which continues to make CN the embodiment of a true USMCA railroad.”

The railway also noted that support for its Kansas City Southern proposal is expanding, with more letters of support being submitted to the Surface Transportation Board.