SMART-TD union asks STB to reject voting trust for CN-KCS deal
A major rail union has asked the Surface Transportation Board to reject Canadian National’s request for a voting trust for its merger with Kansas City Southern. Jeremy Ferguson, president of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers, Transportation Division, says in a filing that the trust would harm employees of both railroads because of the amount of debt CN would take on, along with “the real possibility that the CN transaction would fail the regulatory test in the end.” Calling the merger anti-competitive because of route overlaps — specifically the parallel CN and KCS routes from the Midwest to New Orleans — Ferguson says the union expects “significant job losses on either CN or KCS because ultimately, the transaction would require either a sale or abandonment of duplicative rail lines.”
Head of Montreal’s Exo asks for long-range planning to integrate with light rail system
The head of Montreal’s commuter rail network, Exo, is concerned his system is being overshadowed by construction of the Réseau express métropolitain light rail network, as well as planning for the REM de l’Est, and is calling for long-range planning on Exo’s role in the city’s transportation system. The Montreal Gazette reports Exo’s executive director, Sylvain Yelle, has issued an open letter on the system and told the newspaper, “The point is not to forget to invest and develop the train network to respond to the demand for municipalities that are a bit further away and will be out of reach by the REM.” Yelle said no one is working on a comprehensive plan on how to integrate the REM and Exo systems. “We have to improve the service and infrastructure so we can count on this service in the long term,” he said. Exo seeks funding for a number of improvements, including electrification of the St-Jérome line, station renovations, and a new plan for the Mascouche line, which figures to lose much of its ridership when the REM de l’Est opens in 2029 or thereafter.
NJ Transit settlements from Hoboken crash total $8.15 million
The estate of a woman killed in the 2016 crash of an NJ Transit train at Hoboken Terminal and four injured passengers will receive a settlement totaling $8.15 million, the Asbury Park Press reports. Fabiola Bittar de Kroon, 34, was killed by falling debris when the train crashed through the end bumper at the terminal and into a wall. Also receiving settlement funds will be Bagya Subramaniam, Sheldon Kest, Karl Ward, and Alexis Valle, who were among the 110 people injured in the Sept. 29, 2016, crash. The settlements had been announced earlier [see “Digest: NJ Transit settles lawsuits …,” Trains News Wire, May 14, 2021] but the amount of money involved was released in a statement by attorneys for the five families. The accident was eventually attributed to the lack of positive train control and the engineer’s sleep apnea.
“Head of Montreal’s Exo asks for long-range planning to integrate with light rail system.” Little late for that.