26.February, Washington DC – CSX filed with the Surface Transportation Board an APPLICATION to acquire Pan Am. Docketed as No. FD 36472, five other documents under that docket, plus one other related filing (Docket# AB 1312) were posted to the STB website at the same time as the APPLICATION. Many additional filings are expected.

Editor’s Note: This is a very complex series of filings, referencing numerous current, obscure, and captive entities, agreements, and events. All of the related filings have been redacted to protect competitive information. The R&P editorial staff will present our best effort to discern, understand, clarify, and explain the numerous complicated and subtle elements of the filing documents and the proceedings, for the benefit of our subscribers. Constructive comments are welcome. As always, we appreciate the interest of our readers. 

The APPLICATION is the foundational document of the docket. It is titled,

CSX CORPORATION AND CSX TRANSPORTATION, INC., ET AL.

—CONTROL AND MERGER—

PAN AM SYSTEMS, INC., PAN AM RAILWAYS, INC., BOSTON AND MAINE
CORPORATION, MAINE CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY, NORTHERN RAILROAD,
PAN AM SOUTHERN LLC, PORTLAND TERMINAL COMPANY, SPRINGFIELD
TERMINAL RAILWAY COMPANY, STONY BROOK RAILROAD COMPANY, AND
VERMONT & MASSACHUSETTS RAILROAD COMPANY

The APPLICATION

Writ large, the APPLICATION (Filing 301684) seeks to establish Genesee & Wyoming’s Pittsburg & Shawmut Railroad (doing business as Berkshire & Eastern Railroad, and heretofore referred to as “B&E”) as the operator of the Pan Am Southern railroad, and to incorporate the rest of PAR’s assets into CSX in such way as to gain STB approval for the $600 million transaction. Additionally, the APPLICATION details the scheme of operating and access adjustments to the existing regional freight rail network, calculated to encourage STB approval. These changes are reflected in a series of ancillary filings.

Ancillary filings

In four filings on Docket FD 36472 , PAS half-owner Norfolk Southern establishes new double-stack access along ex-PAR and current CSX and GWI lines:

1. between Ayer and Harvard MA (~3 mi via PAS),

2. between Harvard and Barbers Station (Worcester MA) via (~22.7 mi via PAR/B&M),

3. between Barbers and the head of the CSX Main line, (1.05 mi via Providence & Worcester/GWI), and

4. along the CSX Main line to Voorhies NY (~161.5 mi via CSX).

In the fifth filing on Docket FD 36472, the Pittsburg & Shawmut Railroad  (the “Shawmut Line”) seeks STB authority to operate Pan Am Southern’s ~425 mi of owned (~281.38 mi) and leased (~143.62) lines, upon CSXT’s acquisition of 50% interest in PAS. Shawmut will essentially supplant Springfield Terminal as the contracted operator of the PAS network. As with ST, Shawmut will operate the lines on behalf of the company’s two equal owners (NS and CSX), and without preference for either.

On a separate docket (AB 1312), NS serves notice that it is discontinuing SMS Rail Lines’ operator status along a ~15-mi stretch between Voorhies and Delanson NY (south of Schenectady). That line will connect NS traffic allowed via CSX through Selkirk NY back on to the NS Main line.

Documents filed with STB

Entities