(The Associated Press distributed the following article on April 11.)
DULUTH, Minn. — The Canadian National Railway Co. is closer to cementing its deal to buy two Duluth-based transportation companies.
The U.S. Surface Transportation Board approved CN’s plans to purchase the assets of Great Lakes Transportation LLC for about $380 million. Included in the deal approved Friday are the Duluth Missabe and Iron Range Railway Co. and the Great Lakes Fleet Inc., both based in Duluth.
Mark Hallman, a spokesman for CN, said Great Lakes Fleet’s offices will remain in Duluth, and the ship line’s employment figures are expected to remain stable at about 200 people.
However, CN continues to look at significant cuts in the employment of workers at DM&IR, as outlined in an operating plan it submitted to the Surface Transportation Board in November.
Also as part of the transaction, CN is poised to assume ownership of Great Lakes Transportation’s holdings in the lower Great Lakes: the Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad Co. and the Pittsburgh & Conneaut Dock Co.
Hallman said his company expects to close on the sale by mid-May.
CN is still awaiting approval from the U.S. Maritime Administration and the Coast Guard that would allow for the sale of the eight-ship Great Lakes Fleet.
CN proposes to close DM&IR’s car and locomotive repair shops in Proctor, laying off 76 people and transferring another 18 employees to facilities in Homewood, Ill., and Stevens Point, Wis. In all, the moves could cost Proctor and Duluth 94 jobs. DM&IR employed about 500 people when the planned sale was announced.
CN announced its forecasted cuts at a time when one of the DM&IR’s largest customers – EVTAC Mining Co. – had indefinitely idled its operations in Forbes and Eveleth. Since then, the mine and taconite plant have resumed production under new ownership and with a new name: United Taconite.