1、CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress INSIGHTINSIGHTi i Canadian Railroads Competing to Acquire Major U.S. Freight Line Updated September 2, 2021 Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) and Kansas City Southern (KCS), two of the seven Class I companies that handle long-distance U.S. rail
2、 traffic, announced a merger agreement in March. In April, another Class I carrier, Canadian National (CN), submitted what it termed a “superior proposal” to acquire KCS, which was accepted in May. Either deal, if approved by shareholders and federal regulators, would be the largest consolidation of
3、 major railroads in several decades, and would create the first railroad network to serve Canada, the United States, and Mexico under a single corporate owner. While this could lead to better service for some shippers, it could also have adverse consequences for competition in freight transportation
4、. Any transaction is likely to undergo lengthy review by the Surface Transportation Board (STB). On August 31, all five STB commissioners voted to deny CNs request to create a “voting trust” to hold shares of KCS, an arrangement that would have allowed CN to acquire shares while the merger is still