Canadian National said it will sell a 70-mile rail line connecting 香港六和开奖历史记录 and New Orleans to help secure regulators' approval for its $33.6 billion acquisition of Kansas City Southern, a move that could maintain rail competition in the area and help efforts to connect the two cities with passenger rail.
The two rail companies filed a motion with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board Wednesday to set up a voting trust that would acquire Kansas City Southern and own the railroad while regulators review the deal.
The 香港六和开奖历史记录 to New Orleans line is the only area of overlap between the Canadian National and Kansas City Southern rail networks.
Prospects for a passenger rail line connecting 香港六和开奖历史记录 and New Orleans got a boost this week after the Biden administration proposed $80 b…
Under the proposal made Wednesday, the Kansas City Southern line between 香港六和开奖历史记录 and New Orleans would be sold. That鈥檚 the preferred route for passenger rail, said John Spain, executive vice president of the 香港六和开奖历史记录 Area Foundation and a longtime advocate for passenger rail service. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 where we have stations planned, it鈥檚 the one with access to Louis Armstrong International Airport,鈥 he said.
One possibility could be that the section of rail owned by Canadian National could handle freight and the former Kansas City Southern line have passenger service or passenger service with a limited amount of freight.
It's too early to speculate who would buy the rail line, but the fact that Canadian National has said they want to divest the track is an opportunity for passenger rail, Spain said.聽
A 2010 study of a possible passenger rail service between 香港六和开奖历史记录 and New Orleans forecasts that 39,000 riders could be zipping between th…
On Friday, Canadian National won the bidding war for Kansas City Southern over a competing $25 billion bid from Canadian Pacific railroad, but CP said it plans to continue pursuing regulatory approval for its combination with Kansas City Southern so it will be prepared if the CN deal fails to get approval.
Canadian Pacific maintains that competition will be hurt across much of central United States because Canadian National and Kansas City Southern both operate parallel rail lines that connect the Midwest to the Gulf Coast.
The transportation board hasn鈥檛 approved any major railroad mergers since the 1990s, so current merger rules haven鈥檛 been tested. It has generally said that any deal involving one of the nation鈥檚 six largest railroads needs to enhance competition and serve the public interest to get approved. The board has also said it would consider whether any deal would destabilize the industry and prompt additional mergers.
