Canadian National Railway Co.’s proposal to acquire Kansas City Southern will be judged under stricter regulations adopted in 2001, the U.S. regulator said in an expected decision that lays the ground rules for what would be the first major rail merger in more than two decades.

Canadian National Railway appears to be the front-runner to acquire Kansas City Southern Railroad after the KCS Board of Directors on May 13 declared CN has presented a “superior proposal” to an earlier offer from Canadian Pacific to purchase the U.S.-based railway.

Canadian National on April 26 reported a slight decline in income and revenue for the first quarter, but company executives during a conference call with investors spent as much time discussing the railroad’s move to seize ownership of Kansas City Southern as they did discussing their own railway’s financial results.

An epic battle is in the early stages with Class I railroad powerhouses Canadian National and Canadian Pacific competing with multibillion-dollar bids to purchase the smaller Kansas City Southern railroad.

Canadian National Railway is the latest Class I railroad to feel the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Protesters have been detained by police in Tyendinaga, Ontario, as provincial governments followed through on warnings that they would clear rail lines that have been blocked for weeks.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for patience and dialog as indigenous-rights protests that have brought rail traffic to a halt across Canada drag on.

Canada’s largest railroad, the Canadian National Railway, is beginning a progressive and orderly shutdown of its eastern Canadian rail network, which effectively will stop all of its cross-country freight trains.

Canadian National Railway Co. faces disruption as more than 3,000 workers at the country’s largest railroad threaten to strike just after midnight over safety issues and health benefits.

Canadian National Railway Co. acquired the intermodal division of Calgary, Alberta-based motor carrier H&R Transport Ltd.