The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) has ratified a new five-year contract with Canadian Pacific’s (CP) Soo Line subsidiary as well as the Springfield Terminal implementing agreement.
All five Surface Transportation Board members on April 14 signed off on CSX’s proposal to acquire Pan Am Systems, Inc., and its short line railroad subsidiaries, effective May 14.
Currently pending before the Surface Transportation Board are an application by CSX to acquire Pan Am Railways (PAR) and a related petition regarding operation of Pan Am Southern (PAS) by the Berkshire & Eastern Railroad (B&E), a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming. These transactions will bring strong transportation and safety benefits to New England.
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) was among those responding to the Surface Transportation Board’s (STB) call for comments on issues regarding First-Mile/Last-Mile (FMLM) service; the deadline was Dec. 17.
ASLRRA PERSPECTIVE, RAILWAY AGE, OCTOBER 2021 ISSUE: In 2017, the previous Administration dubbed the week of June 5 as “Infrastructure Week” as part of an effort to promote its $1 trillion infrastructure plan. Seven times in the following three and a half years, that Administration declared that infrastructure would be the theme of the week, only to see those plans thwarted in one fashion or another each time.
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association has recognized four members as 2021 Business Development Award honorees: Iron Horse Resources (IHR), Lake State Railway Co. (LSRC, Railway Age’s 2018 Short Line of the Year), Pan Am Railways, and R.J. Corman (Railway Age’s 2007 Short Line of the Year, West Virginia Line).
As a series of Surface Transportation Board comment periods continues for the CSX’s proposed acquisition of Pan Am Railways, letters both for and against the combination have been filed with the STB.
In Aug. 26 comments filed with the Surface Transportation Board, the United States Department of Justice took issue with many aspects of the proposed CSX-Pan Am Railways merger, citing President Biden’s July 9 Executive Order, “Promoting Competition in the American Economy.”
CSX has recently proposed to acquire Pan Am Railways. Although, as I explain below, I am usually critical of mergers, I believe this merger will substantially enhance the rail network in New England by bringing the region more directly into the national railroad network.
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has accepted for consideration CSX’s amended and re-filed Pan Am Railways acquisition application, and set a procedural schedule, with a final decision to be rendered April 1, 2022. The proposed merger is also gaining support, CSX reported.
