Railroad News

CSX worked with customers to locate 107 new plants or expanded facilities — projects worth $2.2 billion in customer investments — on the company's rail network last year, the Class I announced yesterday.

The new projects are expected to generate 1,500 new jobs in CSX-served areas, CSX officials said in a news release.

CN has submitted its environmental impact statement (EIS) to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) for a proposed logistics hub to be built in Milton, Ontario, the Class I announced yesterday.

The EIS describes measures the railroad plans to adopt to lessen the environmental impact of the $250 million (in Canadian dollars) project. Those measures include:
• an approximately 1-mile private road to be constructed on CN property to avoid truck queuing on public roads;
• a new underpass to be built for Lower Base Line to minimize the impact on commuters traveling in east and west directions past the hub;
• raised earthen berms topped off with native Ontario vegetation and trees to reduce the effects of noise and blend into the natural environment of the area;
• enhancements to be made to Indian Creek's natural habitat; and
• environmentally advanced technology and design in the hub, such as solar panels, rainwater capture, natural and LED lighting.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined that Union Pacific Railroad's failure to conduct a risk assessment of a new control point (CP) signal installation contributed to a collision of two UP trains in 2014, the agency announced in a report last month.

The incident occurred in September 2014 near Galva, Kan., when an eastbound UP train collided with the side of a westbound UP train, according to the NTSB's executive summary of its investigative report.

Industry organizations that represent major customers of Norfolk Southern Corp. have asked the Surface Transportation Board to reject Canadian Pacific's hostile takeover bid, according to the Reuters news agency.

Reuters reviewed copies of the letters, which have not been made public. Sent last month, the letters revealed customers' concerns over CP's cost-cutting plans, the impact on service and the potential for higher prices for customers, the news agency reported.

Although Kansas City Southern will face many of the same economic challenges in 2016 that it faced in 2015, the company's "strong financial and operational footing" is well-positioned for growth. As a result, KCS will proceed with many of its planned strategic capital expenditures, the Class I's top executives said yesterday in a letter to KCS employees.

In their "State of the Railroad" report, KCS Chief Executive Officer David Starling and President Patrick Ottensmeyer said the economic challenges ahead result in the company's cautious outlook for the new year.

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) will host a public meeting today on alternatives for a proposed railroad overpass in the city of Starke.

The meeting is being held as part of FDOT's project development and environment study for the possible overpass and potential locations, FDOT officials said in a press release.

Inadequate track conditions led to a CN train derailment near Faust, Alberta, in June 2014, the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada announced yesterday in its report.

The derailment resulted in no injuries or product release. Approximately 1,200 feet of track was damaged in the incident, however.

[Editor's note: This story has been updated to include CP's response, which was issued this afternoon.]

Norfolk Southern Corp.'s board has unanimously rejected Canadian Pacific's latest merger proposal, NS officials announced today.

The Andersons Inc. announced yesterday that it will begin an expansion of its ethanol facility in Albion, Mich.

The expansion project will double the facility's capacity, Anderson officials said in a press release. The facility is served by Norfolk Southern Railway.

More than 1,500 first responders along CN's network have downloaded the AskRail mobile app to access real-time information about the contents of rail cars in their communities, the Class I announced today.

Emergency responders are the only people eligible to sign up for the app, which was developed by the Association of American Railroads. The app enables responders to view rail-car contents through a simple search, and provides railway emergency contact information and reference resources to support incident response.

Norfolk Southern Corp.'s board will consult with its financial, legal and regulatory advisers to "carefully consider" Canadian Pacific's latest takeover offer, NS officials announced yesterday.

The only difference in CP's latest proposal from the last offer is the inclusion of a contingent value right (CVR), NS officials said in a press release. Yesterday's proposal did not change terms of CP's Dec. 7th offer, which the NS board rejected unanimously, and did not address "substantial regulatory risks and uncertainties inherent in the proposed combination," the release stated.

CN will donate $5 million (in Canadian dollars) to assist communities with resettling thousands of Syrian refugees across Canada, the Class I announced last week.

In the coming days, the railroad will join with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and other Canadian business leaders to direct funds to assist with the refugees' housing and other needs, CN officials said in a press release.

Norfolk Southern Corp. sent a letter today to Canadian Pacific Chief Executive Officer E. Hunter Harrison informing him that the NS board rejects CP's updated buyout offer.

The letter, which NS filed as an 8-K statement, makes official the comments NS officials made in a press release last week after CP updated its original merger proposal. 

Note: This sidebar in the December issue was written prior to NS' rejection of CP's initital buyout offer, CP's second offer, NS' subsequent rebuff of that proposal and several other maneuvers. Follow this link to read the latest on the proposed CP-NS merger.

Norfolk Southern Corp. and Canadian Pacific were business partners that executed the D&H line sale, and now they might become permanent partners.

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Managing Editor

When it comes to real estate, it’s often more advantageous to own a property than to rent or lease it. One of the benefits: A property can be controlled according to an owner’s wishes rather than a landlord’s dictates.

A shipment of pet food that arrived to the new SENASICA inspection program marked a milestone for Kansas City Southern de Mexico S.A. de C.V.’s (KCSM) Puerta Mexico intermodal facility, the railroad announced last week.

Pet food was in the first container shipped to the new inspection facility, KCSM officials said in a post on the railroad's website.

A wheel set issue was behind the derailment of a CN train near Brockville, Ontario, in July 2014, the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) announced in its investigation report yesterday.

The 26 derailed cars included 13 Class 111 tank cars containing aviation fuel residue. A small amount of product was released, and no injuries were reported, the TSB said in a press release.

Kansas City Southern Railway Co. will spend $6.5 million on rail and bridge improvements on its Vicksburg Subdivision in Louisiana, the Class I announced yesterday.

The project is designed to address capacity, maintenance and safety on KCS' cross-border network, according to a KCS press release.

A Canadian environmental agency has allocated funds to four applicants that want to be involved in an environmental assessment of CN's proposed intermodal and logistics hub in Milton, Ontario.

The Canadian agency allocated a total $203,122.90 (in Canadian dollars) to the following applicants: Halton Region Conservation Authority ($21,800); Milton Says No ($7,200); Mississaugas of New Credit First Nation ($95,600); and Nation Huronne-Wendat ($78,522.90), according to a press release from the agency.

Kansas City Southern today announced its third-quarter financial results bested second-quarter performance and included a record operating ratio. But on a year-over-year basis, most measures declined.

KCS reported third-quarter operating income of $220 million versus $229 million in the year-ago period; net income of $132 million, or $1.20 per diluted share, compared with last year's $138 million, or $1.25 per diluted share; revenue of $632 million versus $677.5 million a year earlier; and carloads totaling 583,400 compared with 595,400 in third-quarter 2014.