Class I Briefs: CPKC, UP

Written by Carolina Worrell, Senior Editor
KCS and CP locomotives at the top of the westbound grade at the Continental Divide in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta. Photo by David Duffin

KCS and CP locomotives at the top of the westbound grade at the Continental Divide in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta. Photo by David Duffin

Canadian Pacific (CP) and Kansas City Southern (KCS) merger proposal receives clearance from Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Also, Union Pacific (UP) takes Operation Clean Sweep (OCS) pledge to target resin containment as plastic production grows.

CPKC

CP on Aug. 16 announced it has received the required regulatory clearance from the CFIUS for the proposed merger of CP and KCS.

According to CP, immediately following its acquisition of KCS on Dec. 14, 2021, KCS’s shares were placed into a voting trust ensuring KCS will continue to operate independently of CP while the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) completes its regulatory review of the companies’ joint railroad control application to create Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), the “only single-line railroad linking the U.S., Mexico and Canada.”

The STB review of CP’s proposed control of KCS is expected to be completed in early 2023.

UP has taken the OCC pledge to help keep plastic resin pellets out of waterways and oceans.

UP

To support a growing market in which plastic resin production is heavily increasing along the U.S. Gulf Coast, UP has taken the OCS pledge to help keep the pellets out of waterways and oceans. Additionally, the Class I railroad says it has added terminal and railcar switching capacity to its Gulf Coast network.

“As the industry’s premier rail transportation provider, we know we must do our part to safely handle this product and take actions to prevent spills,” UP said.

According to UP, since 2010, petrochemical companies have invested more than $200 billion to expand plastic resin production capacity along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

“Our commitment is underscored by having taken the OCS pledge,” UP added. According to the Class I, OCS is a “product stewardship program of the American Chemistry Council and Plastics Industry Association designed to help companies that handle plastic resin share best practices as they work toward achieving zero plastic pellet loss and keep pellets out of our waterways.”

More than 300 U.S. companies and more than 60 international plastics organizations are part of the OCS program, according to UP, which adds that for its part, team members are being trained to call the railroad’s Response Management Communications Center when plastic pellets or flakes are found on its property so they can be properly cleaned up.

Additionally, UP says it is formalizing procedures to ensure its Storage in Transit yards and other key rail yards in the Gulf Coast area are routinely inspected and cleaned; and is collaborating with petrochemical customers–who also have taken the OCS pledge–to prevent leaking railcars.

OCS, UP says, is just one of the many steps the railroad has taken to reduce its environmental impact, as outlined in the Climate Action Plan, part of a comprehensive ESG initiative called Building a Sustainable Future 2030 that is aligned with UP’s strategic framework to “Serve, Grow, Win – Together.” UP also recently announced its partnership with Cyclyx and says it “looks forward to supporting the members to develop supply chain solutions for increasing plastic recycling rates.”

“Our commitment to the environment cannot end at work,” said Ashley Stinebaugh, UP General Director-Marketing & Sales. “On a daily basis we all must look for ways to be environmental stewards by recycling at home and monitoring our water consumption. I am proud to work for a company that not only is Building America but is focused on building a better environment for future generations.”

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