WASHINGTON – Federal regulators on Tuesday agreed to toss out some comments that BNSF Railway and Canadian National had filed in response to the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger.
CP had asked the Surface Transportation Board to strike evidence that BNSF, CN, and CSX Transportation submitted separately on July 12, the deadline for final responses to merger comments, protests, and requests for conditions.
CP argued that the points the railroads raised were out of bounds because they were new issues rather than responses.
In a mixed decision, the STB agreed to strike some of the comments but allowed others to be considered as part of the merger review process.
Among the items tossed out: BNSF Railway’s capacity study that contends the CP-KCS merger would bring gridlock to the Houston terminal [see “BNSF claims CP-KCS merger will throw Houston terminal into gridlock,” Trains News Wire, July 14, 2022], and CN’s claims that Canadian Pacific Kansas City would create a bottleneck in Chicago, particularly where CP operates over CN and Metra trackage [see “CP-KCS merger will snarl key Chicago rail junction …,” News Wire, July 13, 2022].
These concerns, the board said, could have and should have been raised earlier as part of each railroad’s initial comments on the CP-KCS merger.
The board said it would allow BNSF’s concerns over rates to be part of the record, however.
Regulators also let stand CSX’s entire July 12 filing, which raises objections to the Meridian Speedway agreement that KCS and Norfolk Southern reached in 2006.
CSX claims that the Meridian Speedway deal — which gives NS exclusive rights to interchange intermodal traffic with KCS at Meridian, Miss. — is unlawful, limits competition, and should face STB review as part of the CP-KCS merger.
This is beginning to sound like the the ICC & the Rock Island merger of the 1960’s.
If CN had acquired KCS then there would have been noooo problems with bottlenecks in Chicago, riiight. I wish CN would just stop looking for a handout.
Well we work T&E 240 – 280 hours a month why not make the lawyers do so too?
That’s how big business works these days, if you can’t make it on your own merits, then get someone else to pay for you.
CSX?? What possible connection could it have at Meridian? M&B? Meridian and Biggbee? or Meridian and Southern railway? The old CSX Montgomery – Selma (western railway of Alabama) was only a very slow non signaled secondary route operated by M&B. Do not know history of M&B operation of Selma – Meridian.
Speclation. CSX did not anticipate NS’s heavy investment in the speedway. So did not mount a objection to NS – KCS. Now CSX realizes that it is loosing some traffic thru NOL and MEM to the shorter route. This maybe the only time CSX can try to remedy its mistake.
CSX might be worried that CPKCS gets limited trackage rights Marshall – Dallas on UP so that some priority freight can avoid the slower KCS route Marshall – Dallas..
From what I’ve heard, that’s exactly what CSX is thinking of doing, using M&B to gain access to the Meridian Speedway. I’m not really sure what it will accomplish in the end, unless they’re going to dump tons of money into M&B to rehab the line like NS does with the Speedway.
Conerning Houston to Beaumont. It may not be gridlock, but it sure will add to this already congested piece of railroad. CPKC will need to fork over some dollars. They’re currently relying on planned capacity expansion being undertaken by UP.. It would behoove CPKC to add CAPEX to the corridor..