b'2American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comSTB to weigh CP/KCS merger in September hearing emerged;INTERMODAL 2022Oppositiontothecombinationhas board must also consider conditions requested by railroads, shippers.By Peter Buxbaum, AJOTThe Surface TransportationTammyDuckworth,andtwo Board (STB) will be holdingChicago-area House members, a three-day public hearing onallDemocrats,wroteSTB the proposed merger betweenChairmanMartinOberman the Canadian Pacific Railwayvoicingconcernsovernoise (CP)andtheKansasCitypollution, blocked crossings, SouthernRailway(KCS)safety conditions, and commuter inlateSeptember.Attherail delays.topoftheusualagendaforTheproposedmerger railmergersiswhetherthewillreportedlymorethan combinationwillreducetriplefreightrailtrafficon competition.theCPraillinethatruns In this particular case, anti- betweenBensenvilleand competitiveconsiderationsElgin,Illinois,theywrote, intheCP-KCSmerger,and that could significantly tobeknownasCPKC,ifincreasedelaysforthose approved, are less prominenttravelingforworkonthe than in some others, such as(MERGERcontinued on the2021proposedtakeoverpage 6)ofKCSbytheCanadian NationalRailwaywhich lostouttotheCPproposal becauseofthepotentialfor regulatoryobjectionsover competitiveness.TheCP andKCSarethesmallest ofNorthAmericasClassI railroads and touch each other only at one point, in Kansas City,mitigatingtheanti-competitive implications. V oices on theM ergerShippers have been almost unanimousintheirsupport fortheCP-KCmerger,but opposition has emerged from otherquarters.Theboards deliberations will also need to address demands from other Class I railroads for trackage concessions from CPKC, and from shippers for interchange protections.The comments of Zekelman Industries, which ships structural steelandpipeproductsfrom Harrow, Ontario, were typical of those approving of the merger. Newsingle-lineofferings willexpandmarketreach andoffernewcompetitive transportation options which will improve transit times and reliability, said Jeff Shulman, the companys vice president oflogistics,inwritten comments to the board.CPandKCScurrently operatesomejointroutes, Shulmannoted,butas separate companies they have not been able to offer the kind of seamless, single-line service we have come to expect from our transportation providers.In an unusual move, Federal Maritime Commissioner (FMC) Louis Sola, in his capacity as anindividualcommissioner, voicedoppositiontothe merger.Theconsolidation of any limited asset integral tothesupplychainmerits close examination, he wrote.Themergerhasalso encounteredoppositionfrom membersoftheIllinois congressionaldelegationand from local communities. Illinoiss two senators, Dick Durbin, and'