Railroaders place to shoot the shit.

Cy Valley · Upgraded Condition

Hunter Thwarted

Snippy · Force Majeure

Seeing the title to this thread....

I thought. I knew it.
We just can't trust Barack Obama.
That one's not even president and already ruining life for real Americans.

Cy Valley · Upgraded Condition

Personally, I was thinking more of our good buddy, BD, and how he's sure to be disappointed.

Troll · 500 - Internal Server Error

CN hopes to save deal for EJ&E track

(The following appeared on The Montreal Gazette website on November 12.)

MONTREAL Reeling from a setback in a U.S. court this week, Canadian National Railway Co. is still hoping to save a controversial deal to acquire almost 200 main line miles of track around Chicago.

CN yesterday urged the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to fast-track approval for the company's $300-million (U.S.) deal to buy most of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Co.

Montreal-based CN wants to divert freight trains from Chicago's congested hub to the EJ&E tracks - a move that would greatly improve service, but would lead to increased traffic through suburban communities.

On Monday, a federal appeals court rejected CN's bid to force the transportation regulator to make a decision by Dec. 1.

Canada's largest railway said it needs an answer to close the deal with EJ&E owner Transtar Inc. by the parties' deadline - the end of this year.

"While CN is disappointed with the court's decision, we remain committed to the EJ&E acquisition and we see no reason why the STB cannot rule on the transaction quickly to permit it to close by yearend," said company CEO and president E. Hunter Harrison.

A CN spokesperson said the Dec. 31 date is crucial because Pittsburgh-based Transtar - and its owner U.S. Steel - appear unwilling to extend the deadline.

"The purchase agreement provides that either party can walkaway (after Dec. 31)," said Karen Phillips, CN's vice-president for government affairs.

Phillips couldn't say why U.S. Steel is refusing to extend the agreement: "Anyone's guess."

A spokesperson for U.S. Steel and Transtar refused to comment yesterday on the deal with CN, which operates 20,421 route-miles of track in Canada and the U.S.

Both parties initially expected the deal, announced in Sept. 2007, to close by mid-2008.

In addition to the $300-million transaction price, CN would invest $100 million to improve rail infrastructure and an additional $60 million to mitigate the deal's environmental impact, including noise pollution. For example, some of the $60 million would go toward installing equipment to reduce the trains' need to blow their whistles, Phillips said.

But CN's offers haven't quelled the concerns of suburban residents west of Chicago who fear the increased traffic will lead to safety concerns and a drop in their property values.

Opposition to the deal took on a political dimension when the residents gained support from Illinois senator - and now president-elect - Barack Obama.

Despite the suburban opposition, Phillips said CN has won support from the city of Chicago because the deal would reduce congestion and pollution in the urban core.

"There are people on both sides," she said.

During an October conference call with analysts, Harrison predicted the U.S.'s post-election climate would be propitious for the CN deal.

"I do think that given the elections, and when the elections are past, there could be a little shift in certain areas," he said.

"I think the momentum has swung back towards a little bit in our favour from where it was at one point in time."

CN is desperately trying to alleviate rail traffic in Chicago, where it can take up to a day for a freight train to travel 48 kilometres across the city.

"If we're able to bypass the downtown gridlock we would have a much more fluid operation," she said.

And if the deal fails to close?

"Hunter has always said we'll find ways to make things work," she said.

"He's very creative. But we really hope we'll find a way."

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Troll · 500 - Internal Server Error

Court to Canadian National: No rush for EJ&E sale

(The following story by Erik Potter appeared on the Post-Tribune website on November 12.)

GARY, Ind. A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., has declined to put a timeline on the government's approval of Canadian National Railway's purchase of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway.

Canadian National had brought suit against the Surface Transportation Board, the federal agency that regulates railroad acquisitions, asking the court to impose a Dec. 1 deadline on its decision.

Canadian National faces a Dec. 31 expiration date for its $300 million purchase agreement of the EJ&E from U.S. Steel.

The court ruled Monday that a quick decision is only necessary in "extraordinary situations" and that CN's situation does not qualify.

The Surface Transportation Board is set to meet Tuesday to discuss the final Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed purchase.

The board's Section of Environmental Analysis has been preparing the final report for more than a month, incorporating the public comments it received on its draft report issued in July.

Once the final report is completed, the full board -- comprised of three presidential appointees approved by the U.S. Senate -- will be able to issue a decision in the case.

The environmental analysis unit expects that the final report won't be finished until at least Dec. 1, and possibly as late as January.

CN executives released a statement to the media Monday urging the STB to approve the purchase and to do so sooner rather than later.

"While CN is disappointed with the court's decision, we remain committed to the EJ&E acquisition, and we see no reason why the (transportation board) cannot rule on the transaction quickly to permit it to close by year-end," CN president and CEO E. Hunter Harrison said.

If approved, the purchase would allow CN to re-route trains around Chicago that currently travel the city's congested core.

Inner suburbs would see a reduction in train traffic while outer suburbs, including Gary, Griffith, Schererville and Dyer would see an increase in traffic.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Troll · 500 - Internal Server Error

STB should speed up EJ&E decision-making despite court rejection, CN says

(CN issued the following on November 11.)

WASHINGTON, D.C. CN said today the Surface Transportation Board (STB) should proceed quickly with a final decision on the CNs proposed acquisition of the principal lines of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company (EJ&E) to allow the transaction to close by the parties Dec. 31, 2008, deadline.

CN is urging the STB to do so after the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied its petition for an order compelling an immediate STB decision on the merits of the transaction. CN petitioned the Court on Sept. 18, 2008.

E. Hunter Harrison, CN president and chief executive officer, said: While CN is disappointed with the Courts decision, we remain committed to the EJ&E acquisition and we see no reason why the STB cannot rule on the transaction quickly to permit it to close by year-end.

It is now up to the STB to do the right thing, to preserve an important transaction with broad transportation and other public benefits for the Chicago region and the nation. The Board should render a positive decision in the early part of its previously announced December 2008-February 2009 timetable for a final ruling. The U.S. Department of Transportation, the National Industrial Transportation League and other stakeholders have called for an expeditious STB ruling to keep the transaction on track.

If such an approach isnt possible, the STB should revisit and adopt our previously offered conditioned approval approach, in which the Board could issue a decision on the transportation merits of CNs application at this time, while allowing the agencys environmental review to continue to completion. That approach would allow the transaction to close by year-end 2008, with CN respecting any STB order to maintain an environmental status quo under which it would not shift any CN trains to the EJ&E until the STB completed its environmental review.

In the meantime, CN will continue to work with each of the communities along the EJ&E line to reach mitigation agreements to address specific community concerns associated with increased train traffic, as it has successfully done with the City of Joliet. CN has developed a comprehensive voluntary mitigation plan in which its has committed to meet all of the STBs established mitigation standards under a program that would cost about $60 million, in addition to the $100 million CN has earmarked for infrastructure improvements on the EJ&E.

National transportation policy promotes carrier investment in enhanced railroad capacity to meet the demand for fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly freight rail transportation, Harrison said. The STB should honor that policy and act in a timely way to encourage important infrastructure investment at a critical time. It must not risk the loss of the benefits of this important transaction, including reduced rail congestion, more efficient rail service, and economic growth. If the STB chooses not to approve the transaction, it risks creating an environment that will deter similar beneficial investments in the future.

CNs EJ&E transaction would benefit the environment of the overall Chicago region. For every community along the EJ&E line in the suburbs of Chicago that would see increased train traffic as a result of the transaction, nearly double that number along CN lines in central Chicago would see decreased rail operations. In fact, the City of Chicago and roughly 60 communities inside the EJ&E arc would benefit from reduced train traffic as a result of the transaction. That would mean a better quality of life for residents of the Chicago region, with less pollution, fewer idling trains and fewer blocked crossings.

CN and U. S. Steel, the indirect owner of the EJ&E, announced on Sept. 26, 2007, an agreement under which CN would acquire most of the EJ&E for $300 million, subject to regulatory approval by the STB. More information on the transaction, including a map of the areas served by the EJ&E and CN, is available by clicking on the EJ&E Acquisition icon on the CN website www.cn.ca.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

BlackDog · Purveyor of Positive Attitudes

Cy Valley wrote:

Personally, I was thinking more of our good buddy, BD, and how he's sure to be disappointed.

Poor Hunter. It's a shame when such bad things happen to such good people.

He's just trying to ramrod the "J" deal so that his legacy will be complete when he retires.

Troll · 500 - Internal Server Error

BlackDog wrote:

Cy Valley wrote:

Personally, I was thinking more of our good buddy, BD, and how he's sure to be disappointed.

Poor Hunter. It's a shame when such bad things happen to such good people.

He's just trying to ramrod the "J" deal so that his legacy will be complete when he retires.

You have a bad attitude.

Railroaders place to shoot the shit.

Court blocks CN bid to put rail deal on fast track

Appeals panel won't force quick decision by regulators on railroad purchase