Approval of Merger Halt Draws Mixed Reaction

An appeals court decision July 14 upholding the Surface Transportation Board’s 15-month moratorium on new rail merger filings — which forestalled an expected “end game” of ultimate rail mergers — met a mixed reaction from railroads and their customers.

	Related Stories
	BNSF, CN Call Off Merger (July 21) Court to Review BNSF-CN Appeal (April 28) CN's Tellier Confident Merger Will Go Through (April 20) Federal Policy on Railroad Mergers Due for Review (April 5) (Note: To return to this story, click the "Back" button on your browser.)

The STB’s moratorium was triggered by an announcement in December of plans by the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe and Canadian National railroads to combine in an end-to-end merger.

Some railroads, like CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern, hailed the decision, as did some shippers. However, other shipper groups, like the National Industrial Transportation League, sided with BNSF and CN in challenging the moratorium.

And Anthony Hunt, an independent analyst who studies rail issues, said the moratorium “may prove positive for all concerned.”

For the full story, see the July 24 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.