b'6American Journal ofTransportation ajot.com(MERGERcontinued fromrailroadrequests,theSTBinformed by testimonials like(NOTEcontinued fromanybody. This is not the way page 2) would first have to determinethatofBryanFitzsimmons,page 4) anypersonwouldwantto Metra commuter rail line.whethertheyconstituteCEOofCentervilleIron&billion company to one worthrunthecompany. Andthats Suburban Chicago DuPageminortransactions,i.e.,Metal,whichshipsscraptomore than $24 billion.whywereworkingsohard. Countyalsoannouncedthat they clearly would notsteelmillsintheMidwestAnd PSR was a big fea- Because if we dont serve the opposition to the merger, citingdetractfromcompetition,fromitsfacilityinIowa.tureofthetransformation.customers,wesimplydont some of the same arguments,orsignificantones.TheFitzsimmonssees,asamong[Formoreinformationonmake any money. Thats what andaddingthatCPtrainsSTBhasalreadyruledthe benefits of the merger, aPSRreadAJOTMarch31,were here for. We need to do travelacross18streetthatneitherBNSFnorlargernetwork,withreduced2020Railroadspost-PSRa lot of things differently and crossingswithinthecounty.CNhasprovidedenoughswitching fees, allowing expansionhttps://ajot.com/premium/ it has nothing to do with the DuPageCountyispartofinformationtoruleonthatandgrowthofbusinesstoajot-railroads-post-psr]. principlesofscheduledrail-the Coalition to Stop CPKC,issue, signaling disapprovalmarkets around North AmericaBut PSR, and railroadingroading, thats just nonsense.whichalsoincludeshalfaoftherailroadsrequests.which we dont currently haveingeneral,haslatelytakenFootes remarks were aimed dozen municipalities. TheSTBhasalsosaidaccessto.Thesemarkets,afewhitsfromshippers,at the criticismfrom ship-thatitwouldnotimposehewrote,mightincludeemployees,andeventhepersandemployeesthat A ttAchingc oncessions conditionsonarailroadMexico and customers or millsgovernment.So,itwasntathe focus of the railroads (all to theM erger consolidation unless it findsin that country. surprise that Foote took issueClass 1s, not just CSX) was CNandBNSFhavethatthemergerproducesThesingle-lineservicewith PSRs naysayers in hison catering to investors. From requested that the STB imposeeffects harmful to the publictobeofferedbyCPKCwillspeech at the MARS meeting. a shippers point of view, rail concessionsonthemerger.interest (such as a significantprovidequickerandmoreFootesaid:Every- hasnt done a good job adjust-CN wants KCS to divest itslossofcompetition)thataefficienttransportation,hebodysays,ohmyGodhesing to the new normal post-linebetweenKansasCity,condition will ameliorate orasserted.SeeinglittletobeholdentoWallStreet.DoCOVID.Delayshaveraised Missouri,andSpringfield,eliminate,alsoindicatingnooverlapbetweentheyou have any idea how muchhavoc with pickups and deliv-Illinois,assertingitwouldthattheBNSFandCNnetworksshouldresultinmoney CSX has lost becauseery schedules and whether it is promotethepublicinterestrequestswillbedeniedaserviceimprovementthatof our failure to move freight?equipment issues, congestion, bydrivinginvestmentinanand that the merger will beis greater than the sum of theEnormous amounts of money.orcrewshortagesthenum-underutilizedroute.BNSFapproved. parts, Fitzsimmons wrote. This doesnt benefit me. Thisbers certainly make the word wants trackage rights on KCSTheSTBsultimate(MERGERcontinued ondoesntbenefittheshare- (NOTEcontinued on lines in Texas and Louisianadecisionwilllikelybepage 10) holder.Thisdoesntbenefitpage 14)andonalineoperatedin IllinoisandIowabyCP subsidiary Soo Line Railroad Company.Severalshippergroups, includingtheAmericanThe BIG EASY Chemistry Council, the Fertilizer Institute,andtheNational IndustrialTransportationLeague,Supply Chain SolutionalsoaskedtheSTBto imposeconditionsonthe CP-KCSmerger,including gatewayandinterchange protections,theabilitytoWhy have your cargo wait at anchorage for weeks?challenge interchange rates, and mandatingarbitrationtosettle rate disputes. Others, including thePrivateRailcarFoodand BeverageAssociation,thePort of New Orleans has capacity ChlorineInstitute,andthe Industrial Minerals Associationto efficiently handle your cargo today. requested reciprocal switching orothermeasuresthatwould providerelieftosole-served shippers. The latter also asked forlimitationsonCPKCrate increasesto10%duringthe firstfiveyearsfollowingthe merger.CPandKCShave responded to BNSF by sayingChicago, ILthat additional service-related conditionswouldunduly burdenCPKCscompetitionSt Louis, MOfor no valid purpose and thatKansas City, MO Port diversification solutionCPKC traffic growth will not overwhelm rail capacity. TheyVessel berthing upon arrivalcharacterizeCNsrequest topurchasetheSpringfield lineasagambitdesignedMemphis, TN Ample terminal capacitytodisruptordelaytheCP/ DFWKCStransaction. TheyalsoWylie, TX No labor shortagesdeny that the transaction willPortadverselyimpactMetrasPort Allen, LA NOLA On-dock rail & container commuterservicesandwill notmeaningfullyincreaseon barge solutions freight traffic on lines shared with Metra.Theyalsonotethat theSTBsrulesrequire applicantstodemonstrate that,amongotherthings,a proposedtransactionwould enhancecompetitionwhere necessarytooffsetnegative effects of the transaction TheCP-KCSmerger,theyLearn more at portnola.com assert, would make CP more competitive with CN.stB sP ositionInordertoruleonthe'