NS and CPKC are trying to iron out differences over Meridian Speedway

WASHINGTON — Norfolk Southern told federal regulators this week that it hopes to smooth over its dispute with Canadian Pacific Kansas City regarding operations over their joint Meridian Speedway.

But NS also said it disagrees with nearly everything CPKC has told the Surface Transportation Board about service over the 302-mile corridor that runs from Meridian, Miss., to Shreveport, La., and is a shortcut linking the Southeast and Southwest.

NS claims CPKC’s service has not been up to snuff since the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger in 2023. In September NS asked the STB to enforce CPKCs merger-related promise to uphold service on the corridor, which carries NS intermodal trains linking Atlanta and Dallas as well as interline Union Pacific-NS stack trains connecting the West Coast and Atlanta. [See “Norfolk Southern claims Meridian Speedway service woes push freight to trucks,” Trains.com, Oct. 3, 2025]

CPKC claims it has lived up to its service commitments with the exception of a brief disruption that followed its troubled May 3 computer system cutover in former KCS territory in the U.S., and blames slow transit times on underpowered UP-NS trains. [See “CPKC disputes NS and UP complaints…,” Trains.com, Nov. 26, 2025]

“NS remains concerned that service over the Meridian Speedway has faltered since the CP-KCS merger and that significant business has been lost to the highway. Nevertheless, at this time, NS is optimistic that CPKC and NS will be able to reach a satisfactory resolution without the need for further Board action. NS reserves its right to renew its request for a Board order to enforce CPKC merger conditions or otherwise protect adequate service for customers if Board action becomes necessary,” Chief Legal Officer Jason Morris wrote to the STB on Dec. 10.

NS and CPKC have been sparring over Meridian Speedway operations since CPKC reimposed an 8,500-foot train length restriction over the summer. The move affected just one train: The interline intermodal train that NS and partner UP run between the West Coast and Atlanta.

The eastbound version of the train typically runs 11,000 feet, which is longer than all but three of the Speedway’s sidings. CPKC CEO Keith Creel has said that his railroad’s customers should not experience delays simply because UP and NS do not want to run their train to siding length.

CPKC has since lifted the train length restriction, NS told the board this week, and is running a second section of the train.

But NS said it disagrees with CPKC’s contention that its service meets contract obligations and its merger-related assurances.

“Most egregiously, CPKC’s response completely ignores the NS-CPKC interline intermodal business losses that we have incurred over the Meridian Speedway and the Meridian gateway since the merger,” NS said. “CPKC’s response only addressed the haulage business that moves over the Speedway, whereas NS’s September 30 filing covered both haulage and interline business. NS currently projects that we will have lost 100,000 intermodal loads over the Meridian gateway with CPKC since 2022 (the last full year of KCS’ per-merger operation of the Meridian Speedway).”

CPKC has said that the slump in intermodal volume is related to broader trends, including low trucking rates and a stubborn freight recession. NS acknowledges that some of the intermodal decline can be attributed to the joint CPKC-CSX service that was launched in December 2024, but says that the vast majority of the container traffic went back to the highway.

“CPKC promised highway diversions to rail in their merger application. What we have experienced over the Meridian Speedway is the exact opposite,” NS said.

Nonetheless, Morris wrote that NS and CPKC are making progress on ironing out their differences.

“After NS’s September 30, 2025 filing, CPKC agreed to temporarily reverse its unilateral decision to impose a train length restriction that was causing customer delays, and the parties have worked constructively to implement a compromise and ensure sufficient crews are available to staff trains transporting NS Traffic,” NS wrote. “NS has also been pursuing several avenues for private sector resolution of this dispute, including multiple Joint Operating Committee meetings, a potential third party audit of operational performance, and other mechanisms.”

NS and KCS formed the Meridian Speedway joint venture in 2006. NS invested more than $300 million in capital investments in the route in exchange for a 30% interest in the joint venture.

— To report news or errors, contact trainsnewswire@firecrown.com.