Most likely to assist in heading off Canadian Pacific’s next move toward an acquisition, Norfolk Southern announced on Jan. 12, 2016 that it is consolidating two of its divisions and shutting down portions of one secondary line as “part of the company’s ongoing drive to enhance operating efficiencies and support long-term growth.”
Everything is out in the open, as it should be. Today (January 8, 2016), the Surface Transportation Board established a page on its website, “Major Railroad Mergers and Consolidations Correspondence,” that contains all the correspondence connected to the proposed merger of Canadian Pacific and Norfolk Southern. The correspondence is in PDF form and can be downloaded by anyone.
Association of American Railroads Senior Vice President-Law and General Counsel Louis P. Warchot has joined the Transportation practice of Sidley Austin LLP as counsel in its Washington, D.C. office.
CN on Jan. 7, 2016 submitted its Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) for its proposed logistics hub/intermodal facility to be built in Milton, Ontario.
After nearly three months and 57 entries later, Railway Age editors, along with judges Nick Little, Managing Director of Michigan State University’s Railway Management Program and Ronald L. Batory, President and Chief Operating Officer of Consolidated Rail Corporation, have selected the winning 10 in Railway Age’s inaugural Fast Trackers—10 Under 40 contest.
January 7, 2016: Carl R. Ice, President and Chief Executive Officer of BNSF Railway, has been named 2016 Railroader of the Year by railroad industry trade journal Railway Age. Ice is Railway Age’s 53rd Railroader of the Year.
Wall Street analyst Cowen and Company has partnered with Chainalytics, a leading firm that collects tens of billions of annualized freight spend dollars covering well over 230 direct subscriptions with key shippers and third-party logistics providers globally, to offer the “Chainalytics-Cowen Index” monthly report.
Parsons has appointed Patrick A. “Pat” Cassity as Group Executive Vice President of Parsons Infrastructure, the company announced Jan. 5, 2016. Parsons Infrastructure, a business unit of Parsons Corporation, provides its customers with full-service engineering and management services in the aviation, rail and transit, transportation-related systems, and bridge and tunnel markets. In his new role, Cassity will lead Parsons Infrastructure’s global operations and support business development and strategy.
On January 5, 2016, Reuters published a story containing excerpts of letters reportedly sent to the Surface Transportation Board by industry groups representing several major Norfolk Southern freight customers. The letters ask the STB to reject a merger of Canadian Pacific and NS, should a merger application be filed. We contacted the STB for copies of those letters and came up empty.
Reuters, which originally broke the story late last year about Canadian Pacific’s targeting of Norfolk Southern for acquisition before CP officially announced it, has published excerpts of several letters to the Surface Transportation Board from industry groups representing several major NS freight customers. The letters ask the STB to reject a merger application.