KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas City Southern is inching toward making Canadian Pacific its merger partner. KCS said today that it will begin merger discussions with CP after its board unanimously determined that CP’s Aug. 10 bid could be deemed superior to the agreement it reached with Canadian National in May. The U.S. Surface Transportation Board’s […]
Railroad: Kansas City Southern
UP, KCS restore service to New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS — Union Pacific has reopened its line between St. James, La., and New Orleans, after Kansas City Southern restored service on Thursday. In a Friday notification to customers, UP said it has generators in place to operate signals and crossing gates until power is restored. The railroad’s Avondale, La., intermodal terminal remains closed […]
Norfolk Southern reports flooding issues in Northeast
NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern is experiencing storm-related disruptions to freight service in the Northeast even as it and other railroads continue to recover from the effects of Hurricane Ida in New Orleans. In a service alert, the railroad said several NS facilities and lines are experiencing flooding and in some cases are inaccessible because […]
Analysis: Merger hopes dashed, CN now faces fierce backlash
There is no joy in Mudville – er, Montreal – today because the mighty CN has struck out. Canadian National suffered a stinging defeat on Tuesday when U.S. federal regulators effectively killed its proposed merger with Kansas City Southern. CN won’t get to create the first railway connecting Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. And it […]
Canadian Pacific sets KCS merger deadline, applauds STB decision
CALGARY, Alberta – Canadian Pacific CEO Keith Creel says Tuesday’s Surface Transportation Board decision that rules out a Canadian National-Kansas City Southern merger proves what he’s been saying all along. “The ruling … confirms what we’ve always believed to be true. And I’ll use their words: A CP-KCS combination is substantially different, substantially different. Those are […]
Analysis: With CN-KCS decision, regulators shut the door to future mergers
The Surface Transportation Board took 33 pages to explain why it rejected Canadian National’s request to put Kansas City Southern into a voting trust while their proposed merger would be placed under the regulatory microscope. Buried on Page 31 of the board’s decision is a 105-word passage that – aside from a potential Canadian Pacific-KCS […]
Kansas City Southern to adjourn planned meeting on CN offer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern says it will adjourn its scheduled stockholders meeting, which had been set for Friday to consider Canadian National’s merger agreement, as a result of Tuesday’s Surface Transportation Board decision to deny a voting trust while the CN-KCS plan was undergoing regulatory scrutiny. That meeting is set for 9 […]
Federal regulators reject CN plan to put KCS in voting trust (third update)
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators Tuesday rejected Canadian National’s request to put Kansas City Southern into a voting trust, dealing a serious blow to the first merger between Class I railroads in two decades. The Surface Transportation Board’s decision that placing KCS into a voting trust was not in the public interest may prompt the railroads […]
Railroads, shut down near New Orleans, still seeking full assessment of hurricane damage
NEW ORLEANS — Rail service to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast remains disrupted following Sunday’s arrival of Hurricane Ida, with Kansas City Southern, Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, and Kansas City Southern all reporting continuing shutdowns following the storm that has left much of Louisiana and parts of Mississippi without power. Kansas City Southern said […]
NARS meeting adds online option
CHICAGO — The North American Rail Shippers Association has added an online participation option to its annual meeting, to be held in Chicago Sept. 7-9. “To make attending as convenient as possible we have added online options because we know there is still uncertainty about traveling due to COVID-19,” NARS President Tom Tisa said in a […]
Kansas City Southern, Louisiana college partner on women’s scholarship program for skilled trades
SHREVEPORT, La. — Kansas City Southern will partner with Northwest Louisiana Technical Community College for the railroad’s Skilled Trade Women’s Scholarship Program, to fund the education and training of three women in one of several areas: diesel, electrician, industrial maintenance technology, industrial instrumentation and electrical technician, or welding. The first scholarship has been awarded to […]
Illinois DOT announces project to unsnarl junction near St. Louis
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois Department of Transportation has announced a $10.1 million project to improve rail operations in Mitchell, Ill., northeast of St. Louis. The project will reconfigure rail lines and replace a 97-year-old interlocking tower, with funding from six sources: $5.1 million from the Federal Railroad Administration’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvments […]