Author: William C. Vantuono

With Railway Age since 1992, William C. Vantuono has broadened and deepened the magazine's coverage of the technological revolution that is so swiftly changing the industry. He has also strengthened Railway Age’s leadership position in industry affairs with the conferences he conducts, among them Next-Generation Train Control, Light Rail, and Rail Insights. He is the author or co-author or editor of several books, among them All About Railroading; John Armstrong’s The Railroad: What It Is, What It Does; Railway Age’s Comprehensive Railroad Dictionary; and Planning, Engineering, and Operating Light Rail, With Applications in New Jersey.

CN Letter: Former STB General Counsel Weighs In

The letters keep coming! CN on April 23 filed a letter with the Surface Transportation Board regarding CN’s “superior proposal to acquire Kansas City Southern in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $33.7

Lance Fritz on CP or CN + KCS: ‘We Will be an Active Participant’

On Union Pacific’s April 22 1Q2021 earnings call, chief executive Lance Fritz was peppered with questions about the potential implications of Canadian Pacific or CN acquiring Kansas City Southern. Following is a transcript (edited for clarity) of Fritz’s responses to those questions.

NDGDA Reiterates Support for CPKC

Just when we thought Railway Age would get a brief break from publishing letters about mergers, here’s another one, from the North Dakota Grain Dealers Association (NDGDA) to the Surface Transportation Board re-iterating its support of the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern combination.

  • News

KBC Wins Stadler MARTA Railcar Subcontract

Knorr Brake Company LLC (KBC), the U.S. passenger rail subsidiary of Knorr-Bremse, has secured a subcontract with Stadler US Inc. to supply braking systems for 254 railcars (127 two-car sets) Stadler is building for MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority). Exact contract terms were undisclosed; KBC said the amount is a “lower-double-digit million-euro sum.”

CN Matches CP, Letter for Letter

Letters, Kansas City Southern gets letters. CN President and CEO JJ Ruest has responded to Canadian Pacific President and CEO Keith Creel’s April 21 letter to KCS President and CEO Pat Ottensmeyer

  • News

For USDOT, a Scientific Approach, and TOD Funds

Resurrecting a position that was abolished more than 40 years ago, the U.S. Department of Transportation is appointing a Chief Science Officer for the entire agency, and has taken additional steps “to act on the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to address the climate emergency and restore scientific integrity.” And the Federal Transit Administration has made available $10 million in TOD (transit-oriented development) planning grant funds.

CN ‘Pre-Files’ With STB

CN on April 21 submitted to the U.S. Surface Transportation Board a prefiling notification of its intent to file an application seeking authority to combine with Kansas City Southern “further to CN’s superior proposal for a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $33.7 billion, or $325 per share.”

CN Counters CPKC with a ‘Superior Proposal’ (UPDATED)

Perhaps not so surprisingly, almost exactly one month to the day after Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern announced their intent to merge into CPKC (Canadian Pacific Kansas City), CN made a counter-offer it said is a “superior proposal” that “will result in a safer, faster, cleaner and stronger railway.” CN’s proposal of $325 per KCS share “represents a 21% premium over the implied value of the CP transaction and values KCS at an enterprise value of $33.7 billion.”