Railroad News

CSX yesterday acknowledged "strong support" for its proposed acquisition of Pan Am Railways Inc., as indicated by comments from businesses, elected officials and stakeholders in five New England states.

The remarks — which came from officials in the states of New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maine —  are part of nearly 120 comments filed with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) in support of the merger, CSX officials said in a press release.

CSX Executive Vice President Mark Wallace died Nov. 28 following a battle with cancer. He was 52.

Wallace had moved into a strategic advisory role in June while he underwent cancer treatment. He joined CSX in spring 2017 as EVP of corporate affairs and chief of staff, and later was named EVP of sales and marketing in July 2018. He also served a stint as EVP and chief administrative officer.

The Carolina Connector (CCX) intermodal terminal has officially opened for business northeast of Raleigh, North Carolina.

The facility, which is considered one of the most technologically advanced facilities on the CSX network, will help relieve port and highway congestion by adding rail-to-truck transfer capacity for domestic and international container shipments, CSX officials said in a press release.

CSX has taken multiple steps to improve service while facing substantial headwinds during the pandemic, President and CEO James Foote wrote last week in response to Surface Board Transportation Chairman Martin Oberman's October letter detailing a series of service complaints.

"Our customer solutions department has not seen a recent increase in service inquiries and we were not aware of informal complaints increasing to your public affairs office," Foote wrote Nov. 2 to Oberman. "We serve more than 5,000 customer facilities and to address issues we need to know certain key facts: when, where and which customer facility."

CSX yesterday recognized 71 customers with the Class I's annual Chemical Safety Excellence Award for their commitment to the safe transportation of hazardous materials.

Representing a wide range of industry segments — including chemicals, biofuels, waste and fertilizers — the award winners shipped a combined 238,000 carloads of hazard materials on the CSX network in 2020 without a non-accidental release due to controllable factors, according to a news release

CSX announced yesterday that its proposed merger with New England’s Pan Am Railways Inc. gained additional support from Maine Gov. Janet Mills as well as four shippers, two municipalities and one member of the New York State Assembly. All filed letters with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to express support for the deal, CSX officials said in a press release.

“This transaction has the potential to bring substantial benefits to Maine. The state of Maine relies on rail traffic to deliver goods and support our economy. If the transaction is approved, CSX has indicated that it will make upgrades to track and locomotives to provide improved service, extend positive train control on Amtrak's Downeaster, and make other improvements to the rail network,” Mills wrote, according to CSX.