STB

CN, KCS File for STB Voting Trust Approval

Proposed merger partners CN and Kansas City Southern (KCS) have filed with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) a renewed motion for voting trust approval, which includes a commitment to divest a 70-mile line overlap in Louisiana.

Fitch Affirms KCS at ‘BBB’

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Kansas City Southern’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and senior unsecured rating at ‘BBB.’ In addition, Fitch has affirmed KCS’s Short-Term IDR and senior unsecured rating at ‘F2.’ Fitch’s Rating Outlook is ‘Stable.’

STB to CN: No Waiver. Voting Trust Denied (For Now) (UPDATED)

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) decided May 17 that CN’s proposed merger with Kansas City Southern (KCS) will be reviewed under its current merger rules and CN’s motion to approve a proposed voting trust agreement has been denied as incomplete, “without prejudice to filing a new motion.”

DOJ to STB: Prohibit CN Voting Trust (UPDATED)

In a May 14 filing with the Surface Transportation Board, the United States Department of Justice has said CN’s application for a voting trust to acquire Kansas City Southern should be denied, because the proposed merger “raises sufficient competition concerns.”

CN-KCS Merger Proposal Tops 1,000 Supporters

Another 180 customers and stakeholders have submitted letters to CN in support of its proposed combination with Kansas City Southern (KCS), its use of a voting trust, or both, upping the total to more than 1,000, CN reported May 12. All have been filed with the Surface Transportation Board (STB).

USDOT Weighs In on Gulf Coast Service

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) “stands ready” to work with Amtrak, CSX, Norfolk Southern (NS) and other stakeholders to restore “long overdue” passenger service between New Orleans and Mobile, it wrote in a recent Surface Transportation Board (STB) filing.

CPKC Support Count Nears 550

As Canadian Pacific and CN vie for a merger with Kansas City Southern, the letters of support for both potential transactions continue to pile up at the Surface Transportation Board. On May 10, it was CP’s turn to up its count, as it reported 131 new letters.

Commentary

STB Action Creates More Equitable Demurrage Approach

Picture a customer who receives a hefty invoice from an auto repair shop with several additional charges and no details regarding the nature of these fees. The customer is left facing the question of whether to dispute the bill, and if so, how. Such has been the experience of U.S. rail shippers in recent decades when receiving invoices from the railroads for demurrage charges, which are applied by railroads for costs incurred when shipments are held up beyond a reasonable time.