WASHINGTON — Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern have filed their merger application with the Surface Transportation Board, meeting the companies’ goal of delivering the document to regulators before the end of October.
In a press release sent Friday at 10:40 p.m. EDT, the companies said the application to create new combined company Canadian Pacific Kansas City, or CPKC, addresses the proposed operational integration of the two railroads, impact on their finances and labor needs, and the resulting anticipated competitive and other benefits.
The railroads say the merger will lead to creation of more than 1,000 jobs, more than $275 million in infrastructure work to upgrade the main line between Louisiana and the Upper Midwest; diversion of 64,000 long-haul truck shipments; and avoidance of more than 2.8 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions because of that diversion from truck traffic and the greater efficiency of the combined rail operation.
The companies say they anticipate STB review to be completed in the second half of 2022, and integration of the two companies will take three years after the transaction is approved.
“CPKC is an extraordinary opportunity to inject new competition and new capacity into the U.S. rail network, further USMCA [trade agreement] trade flows, improve safety, grow employment and facilitate new passenger services,” CP CEO Keith Creel said in the press release. “We are ready to work with the STB as the board gives this transaction a thorough and appropriate review, and ultimately look forward to approval so we can get to work delivering these benefits to the North American economy.”
KCS CEO Patrick J. Ottensmeyer said, “In fierce competition with other railroads, trucks and other modes of transportation, CPKC will provide new routes, reach broader markets and create expanded shipping opportunities for customers. This combination will also unlock new infrastructure investment and environmentally-friendly supply chain transportation options that will grow the USMCA economy.”
Trains News Wire will report more details on the application as they become available.
The text states: “The railroads say the merger will lead to creation of more than 1,000 jobs”. How many of these jobs will be there after 5 years. is anything binding?
How many times have we heard this before?
In any industry, in any segment of the economy, automatically discount such a statement. It means nothing except to get ink the the newspaper when the “reporter” writes a “news article” that is nothing more than a corporate press release.
I wonder if a combined CP/KCS will retain the line to St.Louis and Springfield, it doesn’t seem to be much useful in their new network. If the plan is to move traffic away from Chicago, Norfolk Southern’s former Wabash line to Kansas City seems a more direct routing for this purpose.
Good point, seems like a candidate for potential short line sale where as KCS – CN merger was candidate for improvement
..
Pretty much any eastbound NS traffic can be handled via Meridian, Kansas City or Chicago itself and eastbound CSX traffic in Chicago. I’m not sure but assume CSX has access into Meridian as well. Just doesn’t seem any good reason to move interchange via Springfield and understand that the rail line needs some dollars for anything more than what it handles now.