Proposed merger partners CN and Kansas City Southern (KCS) have submitted to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) a reply to comments filed on the railroads’ voting trust agreement. They detailed why the trust should be approved. KCS rival merger partner Canadian Pacific (CP) is unconvinced.
On May 26, The Surface Transportation Board rejected as “incomplete” the merger application filed by CSX Transportation, Inc. to acquire control of Pan Am Systems, Inc. and its short line railroad subsidiaries. CSX on July 1 submitted an “amended and supplemented application” to the STB, stating that the refreshed application “provides all of the additional details of the proposed transaction requested by the STB.”
Following the closing of the public comment period for the CN voting trust, which ended June 28, we are re-calibrating our expectations and now believe there to be a ~60% chance the Surface Transportation Board approves it. Our viewpoints swayed slightly in favor of CN following a closer look at the public comments over the past 20 days.
Amtrak has asked the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to reject CN’s use of a voting trust in its proposed combination with Kansas City Southern (KCS). The passenger railroad’s comments were filed June 28, along with those from Canadian Pacific (CP), KCS’ rival merger partner.
Proposed merger partners CN and Kansas City Southern (KCS), and KCS rival partner Canadian Pacific, on June 28 reported additional support for their respective combinations. It is the final day of the Surface Transportation Board’s (STB) public comment period on the CN-KCS voting trust.
The Surface Transportation Board’s Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) has updated its Rail Heritage Map.
Canadian Pacific (CP) has reported that another 80 stakeholders have filed statements with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) “expressing concerns” about the proposed CN-Kansas City Southern (KCS) merger, its use of a voting trust, or both.
CN and Kansas City Southern (KCS) on June 23 cited four letters by rail labor filed with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) in support of their proposed voting trust. Three of those letters, from local general committees of the same union, contradict the international’s position.
CN’s offer to keep gateways open on commercially reasonable terms is not getting the attention that it is due. This offer is a key part of its proposal to combine with Kansas City Southern—a transaction that significantly enhances competition.
For several months, Railway Age has reported extensively on Amtrak’s efforts to begin running two daily round trips between New Orleans and Mobile, and the strong opposition to the plan voiced by CSX and Norfolk Southern (NS). The focus has been on the railroads. But there’s another vital interest at stake: that of the American people to be able to ride new services on “America’s Railroad.”
