STB Approves CSX-Pan Am Combination

All five Surface Transportation Board members on April 14 signed off on CSX’s proposal to acquire Pan Am Systems, Inc., and its short line railroad subsidiaries, effective May 14.

The Contrecoeur container terminal project, located about 25 miles from Montreal, would allow MPA to handle up to 1.15 million containers (20-foot equivalent units or TEUs) annually.

MPA, CN Team on Port of Montreal Contrecœur Expansion

The Montreal Port Authority (MPA) and CN have reached an agreement in principal to develop the rail component of the Port of Montreal’s Contrecœur expansion project, MPA reported on April 6.

Commentary

Cowen Insight: 1Q22 Shipper Surveys Say …

Cowen and Company transportation analysts Jason Seidl (Managing Director and Railway Age Wall Street Contributing Editor), Matt Elkott and Elliott Alper recently conducted their first-quarter 2022 rail equipment and shipper surveys. Following are the results, plus insights on The Greenbrier Companies Inc. (GBX), Trinity Industries Inc. (TRN), GATX Corporation, and the Class I railroads, ahead of earnings.

Keith Creel, President and CEO, Canadian Pacific

CEO PERSPECTIVE: Supply Chain, Market Reach and Sustainability

As part of a special series in Railway Age’s March 2022 issue, 11 North American railroad CEOs address what must be done to grow and gain market share from competing freight transportation modes. Keith Creel, President and CEO of Canadian Pacific, is the 2nd to share his perspective.

Mid-train distributed power remote locomotive, UP 5359, following the 2019 derailment of CP’s freight train 301-349 on the Laggan Subdivision, near Field, British Columbia. Source: TSB Report R19C0015.

CP Disputing TSB Accident Report

Canada’s Transportation Safety Board (TSB) at a March 31 news conference released its investigation report of Canadian Pacific’s Feb. 4, 2019 train derailment on the Laggan Subdivision near Field, British Columbia. CP later in the day issued a strong statement, calling out “inaccuracies and misrepresentations” made at the conference and in the report.

Construction is slated to start this summer on the 665-acre CentrePort Canada Rail Park in the capital region of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Winnipeg Rail Park Project Moving Forward

The Manitoba (Canada) government and CentrePoint Canada Inc. on March 25 reported their selection of Focus Equities Inc. as the developer of a Winnipeg rail park, to be served by BNSF, Canadian Pacific (CP) and CN.

A westbound OC Transpo train approaches Bayview Station on Line 1 in Ottawa, Canada. (Photo: Courtesy, City of Ottawa)

Ottawa LRT Projects Advancing

Work is progressing on the two extensions to Ottawa, Ontario’s crosstown Confederation LRT Line, opened in 2019. A third major rail transit project currently under way in the Ottawa area is extending and upgrading the DMU Trillium Line. Scheduled for completion in 2023, this improvement should significantly boost ridership.

CP, TCRC: Work Stoppage Is Over

Canadian Pacific (CP) and Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC)–Train and Engine have reached an agreement to enter into binding arbitration and to return to work on March 22.

A proposed 150-kilometer Calgary-Banff passenger rail service could include seven stops—Calgary International Airport, downtown Calgary, Calgary Keith, Cochrane, Morley (Stoney Nakoda), Canmore and Banff—along a dedicated line built within the existing Canadian Pacific right of way.
Commentary

Hydrogen Hinted for Calgary-Banff Passenger Scheme

Flush with cash, as its vast tar sands oil field suddenly lurched from environmental pariah to savior of western civilization, the Alberta government is looking more favorably upon a scheme to build a new, independent passenger railway, connecting Calgary International Airport (YYC) to the Rocky Mountain’s global tourist destination, Banff National Park.

STB to CP-KCS: Clarify Data From Proposed Merger Filings

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) on March 16 asked merger partners Canadian Pacific (CP) and Kansas City Southern (KCS) to address an apparent “inconsistency in the calculation of traffic density numbers” that were submitted to the STB and to the STB’s Office of Environmental Analysis regarding their proposed combination.

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