Just When it Seemed Like the Line was Clear, The Department of Justice Throws up a Yellow Signal
26.August, Washington DC – A Comment submitted by the U.S. Department of Justice under STB Docket #36472 conveys the Administration’s explicit distaste for a major part of CSX’s plan for Pan Am Railways, the carefully-crafted proposal for a G&W subsidiary to operate the Pan Am Southern system. The Comment’s very first line cites the 09.July […]
CSX's Wallace responds to STB request for additional information on traffic forecasting in the Revised Application
19.August – CSX filed a response by EVP Mark Wallace to the Board’s request in Decision #4 (30.July.2021) for additional information, to wit: So that the Board can fully evaluate whether the impact of the Merger and Related Transactions would have any potential for environmental impacts warranting environmental review when the PAR System integration has occurred, the […]
New England is appropriately deemed “energy hungry,” but we have a lot to choose from on the menu.
Strong resistance to new pipeline construction in New England and downstate New York has been touted as an opportunity to develop a robust LNG-by-rail “virtual pipeline” to bring Marcellus natural gas to “energy starved New England. Despite a 2020 Presidential directive and subsequent USDOT rulemaking to encourage LNG-by-rail to New England, the mode needle has […]
Complete procedural schedule as approved in STB Decision #4 By-date Action 30.July.2021 Effective date of Decision #4 19.August.2021 CSXT supplemental ENVIRONMENTAL information due 20.August.2021 Persons wishing to participate as a Party of Record filing due 27.August.2021 Petitions for waiver or clarification Descriptions of anticipated (including inconsistent) responsive applications filing due 30.August.2021 Applicants’ SAFETY INTEGRATION PLAN filed […]
Going forward, primary document to be called "Revised Application"
STB Decision No. 4 in STB Finance Docket No. 36472; Notice of Acceptance of Application and Related Filings; Issuance of Procedural Schedule. Click to read the Full Decision. Approved Schedule. Click to read the Full Decision, Approved Schedule.
CSX PAR Lines Operating Plan Detail Analysis CSX’s Amended and Supplemented Application (01.July.2021) includes a 60-page Operating Plan, Verified by Jamie Boychuk. It includes a detailed analysis of current PAR System operating characteristics, regional CSX operating characteristics, and a projected synthesis of the two into a CSX regional divisions directly connected to the CSX national […]
By incorporating Pan Am Systems, CSX is giving its PSR champions a juicy, low-hanging target to drive down O/R and still spare the rest of its already-there network.
Identifying the Real Competition CSX’s prospective acquisition of PAR presents an improvement in practically every aspect of New England’s rail industry. Simply by virtue of being a Class I railroad, they will certainly improve the track, rolling stock, operation, and reliability along every mile of the PAR/PAS network. They will connect New England shippers/receivers to […]
Rail share of freight tons handled in New England is just over 3%, considerably below the national average of 8%.
(Among the many new sections in the Amended and Supplemented Application is a detailed review of PAR-line marketing prospects by recently-appointed CSX EVP Mark Wallace, presented as a Verified Statement. This article intends to gather the key excerpts from the Verified Statement. – Ed.) CSXT’s Executive Vice President Mark Wallace’s marketing plan touches upon CSXT’s […]
CSX's 01.July Amended and Supplemented Application to acquire Pan Am Systems is ~330% bigger than the original 25.February "Minor" version, and more than twice as long as the 26.April "Significant" version.
02.July.2021, Washington DC — CSX’s Amended and Supplemented Application to acquire Pan Am Systems (the holding company of the various Pan Am Railways assets) is ~330% bigger than the original 25.February “Minor” version, and more than twice as long as the 26.April “Significant” version that were rejected by the STB (Decisions 2, 3). So, […]
Giving New England's Class III railroads a stake in the revitalized rail network is not incompatible with CSX's strategic objective to complete a northeast land bridge between Port of Saint John NB and the interior.
On 25.May, the STB gave CSX a second Incomplete grade for its Application to acquire Pan Am Railways, forcing CSX to attend summer school and develop a third iteration of the Application to merge with Pan Am Railways. Will it yield the charm this proposed transaction desperately needs? The Board’s explanation of the ruling provides […]