During what will most likely be the first of many joint appearances as their merger process progresses, CN President and CEO JJ Ruest and Pat Ottensmeyer, his counterpart at Kansas City Southern, said that their jointly filed voting trust application “meets the Surface Transportation Board’s public interest test under current merger rules.”
Amtrak is looking to expand its network of passenger trains, for the first time in two decades. The proposal by “America’s Railroad” to add dozens of new corridors and state-supported trains to its network has drawn both support and criticism from advocates: support because it marks a new attitude on Amtrak’s part favoring expansion (of some sort, at least); criticism because it does not go far enough toward pushing for more long-distance trains or recognizing the contributions of the citizen-advocates who have been calling for more trains throughout almost all of Amtrak’s 50-year history.
CN and Kansas City Southern (KCS) reported June 2 that they have received more than 400 letters of support for their proposed merger since KCS chose to partner with CN on May 21 over rival Canadian Pacific (CP).
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) is initiating a rulemaking proceeding to establish a new “emergency temporary trackage
rights class exemption” that could be invoked during natural disasters, accidents or derailments; comments are due by July 12, 2021.
Amtrak is attempting to start service between Mobile and New Orleans, along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. CSX and Norfolk Southern (NS) oppose Amtrak’s plan, and the issue is now before the Surface Transportation Board (STB). The issues are purportedly operational, having to do with rail capacity at the Port of Mobile, although there are also procedural issues to the controversy. There is a political dimension, too, with essentially the entire political establishment in Mississippi supporting Amtrak’s position and all of Alabama’s opposing it.
Canadian Pacific (CP) reported June 1 that it “remains confident” in its “superior status” as Kansas City Southern’s (KCS) merger partner, noting that more than 130 stakeholders have filed statements with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) requesting the rejection of merger rival CN’s voting trust application.
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) on May 28 sent identical letters to the Class I railroad CEOs—the second set of letters in as many days—requesting that they continue providing quarterly information about their revenues from demurrage and accessorial charges.
Surface Transportation Board (STB) Chairman Martin J. Oberman has called on the CEOs of the seven North American Class I’s to provide an update on their preparedness to meet service demands, particularly as railroad employment rates have fallen.
The war of words between Canadian Pacific and CN isn’t over, with CP on May 27 issuing a statement that its merger rival’s commitment to divest Kansas City Southern’s New Orleans-Baton Rouge line is a “token divestment [that] would not begin to address the competitive issues in the rail corridors running north from Louisiana and Mississippi through America’s heartland, where KCS and CN have historically competed.”
The Surface Transportation Board lately has been relentless in demanding that applications for mergers and voting trusts, among other transactions, meet its standards for completeness.
