WASHINGTON — Chicago-area commuter railroad Metra has asked a federal court to review the Surface Transportation Board’s decision to approve the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger as well as a subsequent decision that covers post-merger oversight.
Metra’s suit, filed on Sept. 29 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, was disclosed today in a regulatory filing with the STB. Union Pacific and a group of Chicago-area communities called the Coalition to Stop CPKC also have sought a judicial review of the STB’s approval of the CPKC merger.
All three lawsuits claim that the STB’s approval of the first merger of Class I systems in two decades was unlawful.
“Metra requests this Court to hold the March 15 Decision and the August 31 Decision to be unlawful, to set them aside, to remand the case to the Board to correct its legal deficiencies, and to grant such additional relief as may be necessary and appropriate,” the Metra suit says, using language similar to the other lawsuits.
This is the second time Metra has filed suit against the CP-KCS merger decision. Metra initially filed suit on May 12, but the court rejected it as premature because Metra was also seeking a modification of the merger decision.
The board’s Aug. 31 decision denied Metra’s request for more detailed reporting requirements regarding CPKC freight trains that operate on lines shared with Metra commuter trains.
Metra strongly opposed the merger, contending it would have a negative effect on commuter operations on two lines shared with CPKC, and sought 13 conditions to mitigate those impacts, from gaining control of dispatching to mandating that CPKC make capital improvements. None of the requests was granted.
Note: Updated at 4:26 p.m. Central to correct reference to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
I still think Metra is looking to extend control too far outside its boundaries. They are obsessed with what CPKC *might* do if the route east from Sabula gets constrained and force traffic through Chicago to reach Bensenville.
If Sabula gets wonky, then that is a CPKC operational issue, not a Metra one.
Oberman used to chair Metra, he knows it just as well as anyone, so if he didn’t think it would harm Metra, don’t you think he would be right? He is well informed.
CPKC probably sent four whole trains across the Chicago Subdivision yesterday. Metra can’t deal?
Lawsuits. Damn I get tired of hearing/seeing that.
Give. It. Up. Done deal already!
Another lawsuit this late? The question becomes is lawsuit question all about the money? The who, what, why, where, when. Is UP behind the scenes? How much is this going to cost METRA? May be time for someone at the Sun-Time to investigate.
UP no longer is involved in the operation of Metra, getting rid of that headache late last year…
Hmmm…make passenger travel easier or keep freight running more efficiently for the betterment of all Americans…no brainer in my opinion.
Brightline/FECR have done both. Just saying.
Has Metra cited any metric demonstrating negative consequence to their operation post-merger?
Stop the merger? The merger has already happened, last April.==
Wonder when CPkc will get around to painting their engines to show the new system instead of continuing to run the mostly dirty CP and KCS (and KCS de Mexico) units that haven’t been washed since they were built and delivered…
All I have seen so far is a few containers lettered CPKC. Most still just say CP.