KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas City Southern’s profits slumped in the third quarter due to the impact of merger-related costs, but revenue was up sharply even as volumes declined slightly as a result of auto assembly plant shutdowns and protests that blocked the railroad’s route to a key Mexican port. The railroad today reported that […]
Railroad: Kansas City Southern
Top KCS Precision Scheduled Railroading official to leave company
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Sameh Fahmy, Kansas City Southern’s executive vice president, precision scheduled railroading, will leave KCS by year’s end, the railroad has announced. Fahmy joined KCS in January 2019. Since then, the railroad says it has increased train velocity by 37%, decreasing freight car dwell by 18%, enacted double-digit reductions in equipment, and […]
KCS turns to Commtrex to improve transload network
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern will use rail logistics platform Commtrex to improve the visibility and connectivity of its network of more than 100 transload facilities in 19 U.S. and Mexican states. The agreement announced Monday joins the railroad’s transload network with a platform that allows shippers to find transload centers by location, […]
STB reaffirms approval of CP-KCS voting trust
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has reaffirmed its previous approval of a voting trust for the proposed merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern, saying the approval granted for CP’s original bid for KCS applies to the amended notice of the companies’ intent to merge. In May, the STB approved the planned use […]
CP CEO Keith Creel talks historic KCS merger, CPKC name, operations
Canadian Pacific CEO Keith Creel — who last week won a hard-fought, four month merger battle to acquire Kansas City Southern — is fully aware that the first Class I railroad combination in two decades is history in the making. “We’ve got some history that we’re very proud of with Canadian Pacific. We drove the […]
Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern outline merger timetable
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Canadian Pacific CEO Keith Creel and Kansas City Southern CEO Pat Ottensmeyer expressed excitement today about finally being able to combine their two railways into the first system to connect Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. Their merger deal, officially announced on Wednesday after Canadian National dropped its pursuit of KCS, came […]
‘Canadian Pacific Kansas City’ name is an awkward mouthful: Commentary
Now that the months-long battle for Kansas City Southern is over and Canadian Pacific has been won, let’s get down to the important part for those of us who cover railroading for a living and those of us who have reverence for great railroad titles: the name of the new company that will carry on […]
Canadian National drops pursuit of KCS, clearing way for Canadian Pacific-KCS merger (updated)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The four-month battle for Kansas City Southern is officially over. KCS and Canadian National ripped up their $33.6 billion merger agreement today, 15 days after the Surface Transportation Board denied CN’s request to place KCS into an independent voting trust. Canadian Pacific and KCS, with voting trust approval already in […]
KCS Holiday Express will not run in 2021; fundraising will continue
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern will hold a fundraising effort to benefit the Salvation Army to mark the 21st anniversary of its Holiday Express program, but the Holiday Express train will not run for a second consecutive year because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “While it’s still not safe to gather for visits […]
Kansas City Southern accepts Canadian Pacific merger offer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern on Sunday accepted Canadian Pacific’s $300 per share merger offer, spurning Canadian National’s higher bid due to its regulatory obstacles. In a midday press release, KCS said its board had determined CP’s revised offer constituted a “Company Superior Proposal” as defined in the agreement with CN. CP extended the […]
Canadian Pacific CEO says talks with KCS are progressing
CHICAGO — Canadian Pacific’s merger negotiations with Kansas City Southern are progressing in the wake of last week’s regulatory decision that dealt a blow to the proposed Canadian National-KCS combination. “I believe, and I have high hopes, that we will come to a place when we finish these negotiations that we will be deemed superior,” […]
Activist investor plans to call for meeting to remake CN board
LONDON — Activist investor TCI Fund Management says it will call for a special meeting of Canadian National shareholders to nominate at least five new members of the board of directors, and has hired shareholder advisory and communications firm Kingsdale Advisors to help halt CN’s pursuit of Kansas City Southern. Chris Hohn, TCI founder and […]