Flexi-Van flexibility A driver loads a New York Central Flexi-Van container from a truck bogie onto a flatcar in 1958. No overhead crane was needed, just a flat area next to the track. The NYC had more than 7,000 Flexi-Van containers in service by the mid-1960s. Photo by New York Central […]
WASHINGTON – Federal regulators have indefinitely postponed Canadian National’s proposed sale of former Wisconsin Central branches to short line operator Watco. The Surface Transportation Board ordered Watco to respond to concerns that some shippers, shipper associations, and U.S. Rep Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., have raised about the sale of 650 miles of light density branches, including […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National has raised its financial outlook for the year amid record first-quarter intermodal and Canadian grain volumes, and expectations for continued economic improvement that will boost merchandise traffic. CN now expects volume to grow in the high single-digit percentage range this year, up from around 5% forecast in January, executives said while […]
Extra 6311 East A westbound freight, led by an F7 quartet, coils past Extra 6311 East near Alta, Calif., in October 1957. The eastbound’s helpers are just visible up ahead. Photo by Philip R. Hastings […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National could finalize a merger deal with Kansas City Southern in the next 30 to 40 days, executives said today. With the KCS board agreeing over the weekend to consider CN’s unsolicited $33.7 billion merger offer, CN tomorrow will begin poring over confidential KCS data and negotiating a final merger agreement. Rival […]
CALGARY, Alberta — A combined Canadian National and Kansas City Southern system would reduce railroad competition across wide swath of its expanded service territory, which would pose a regulatory challenge to a potential merger, Canadian Pacific CEO Keith Creel says. “The competition between KCS and CN is not limited to a ‘handful’ of shippers as CN […]
Allagany County, Md., plans to ask STB to intervene in bridge dispute with CSX The Allagany County, Md., Board of Commissioners will file a complaint against CSX Transportation with the Surface Transportation Board over a bridge closure in Cumberland, Md., saying the railroad has blocked any effort to address the issue, although the railroad says […]
WASHINGTON — Two local shipper groups have dropped their challenge to Canadian National’s proposed sale of former Wisconsin Central branches to short line operator Watco. Wisconsin Central Group and the Lake States Shippers Association met with Watco’s leadership team last week in Green Bay, Wis., and have decided to support the transaction involving 650 miles […]
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern will begin discussions with Canadian National over its offer for the railroad after the KCS board of directors determined the CN bid could reasonably be expected to lead to a “company superior proposal,” as defined in its merger agreement with Canadian Pacific, KCS announced in a Saturday press […]
National Steel Car stops manufacturing because of virus outbreak Canadian freight car manufacturer National Steel Car has voluntarily shut down because of a COVID-19 outbreak in its manufacturing division. Global News reports the company in Hamilton, Ont., announced the decision on Friday, saying the closure will last for two weeks and was made in consultation […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board ruled late Friday that it would apply its pre-2001 merger regulations in its consideration of the potential merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern, granting the waiver specified for mergers involving KCS when new, stricter merger rules were adopted in 2001. In a 4-1 decision announced shortly before […]
WASHINGTON – In the first sign of congressional opposition to further rail mergers, the chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure said today that the Canadian Pacific and Canadian National dueling proposals to acquire Kansas City Southern should set off alarm bells. Rep. Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat, said an acquisition of KCS […]
