Rail Industry News
Regulators say older merger rules apply to KCS
(Source: Freight Waves, April 23, 2021) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A proposed merger between Kansas City Southern and Canadian Pacific can proceed under older rules governing Class I mergers, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) determined Friday. Full story: Freight...
CN’s Q1 2021 net income slips nearly 4%
(Source: Freight Waves, April 26, 2021) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — CN’s net profit for the first quarter of 2021 fell 3.7% to CA$974 million, or $1.37 per diluted share, compared with CA$1.01 billion, or $1.42 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2020. One Canadian...
CN reports Q1 2021 financial results
(Source: Canadian National press release, April 26, 2021) MONTREAL — CN today announced solid results in the first quarter of 2021, including an in-dustry-leading increase in traffic volume of five per cent year-over-year. The Company updated its 2021 financial...
Analyst survey says shippers prefer CP over CN as merger partner for KCS
(Source: Canadian Press, April 23, 2021) CALGARY — Railroad shippers have a much more negative view of a bid by Canadian National Railway Co. to take over the Kansas City Southern railroad than a competing offer by Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd., according to a "snap...
Amtrak Hiawatha service resuming its pre-pandemic schedule in May
(Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 23, 2021) MILWAUKEE, Wisc. — It's all-aboard again as Amtrak this week announced it is restoring all Hiawatha round-trips between Milwaukee and Chicago starting May 23. It's a sign that things are coming back to normal. For...
At 50, Amtrak could get the transformational makeover it needs
(Source: Seattle Times, April 23, 2021) SEATTLE — How popular is Amtrak? It depends on who you ask. Before the pandemic, the pas-senger railroad was turning in record ridership and revenue, along with setting records for growth on the Northeast Corridor and lines with...
Amit Bose Federal Railroad Administrator nominee
(Source: Railway Age, April 23, 2021) NEW YORK — As largely expected, President Joe Biden will nominate current Deputy Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose as FRA Administrator, the White House announced April 23. Full story: Railway Age
Century-old rivalry between CP and CN is not getting any gentler
(Source: Peterborough Examiner, April 24, 2021) MONTREAL — With both CP and CN bidding for Kansas City Southern, the century old rivalry isn’t getting any gentler. This week’s $33.7 billion (U.S.) competing bid by CN for KCS laid bare their long-running enmity. That...
STB gives CP early win as KCS review continues
(Source: Reuters, April 24, 2021) NEW YORK — Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd on Saturday welcomed the U.S. Surface Transpor-tation Board’s (STB) decision to uphold a 2001 waiver it granted to Kansas City Southern being applicable to the merger of the two companies. Full...
House Transportation Committee chair skeptical of rail merger offers
(Source: Freight Waves, April 23, 2021) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee panned competing efforts by two Canadian railways to acquire Kansas City Southern, saying the offers threaten to usher in a new round of...
STB OKs KCS waiver for CPKC
(Source: Railway Age, April 24, 2021) NEW YORK — The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has confirmed that it will review the proposed merger of Canadian Pacific (CP) and Kansas City Southern (KCS) under the waiver pro-vision it granted KCS in 2001; Robert Primus, one...
CP, CN, KCS merger dance takes new turns
(Source: Railway Age, April 24, 2021) NEW YORK — As soon as the STB issued its decision granting Kansas City Southern a waiver from prevailing merger rules established about 20 years ago, KCS—following the terms of its existing merger agreement with Canadian...
KCS will begin merger talks with CN
(Source: Kansas City Business Journal, May 26, 2021) KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern’s board said Saturday that it will begin talks with Canadian National Railway Co. after finding that its offer for the company may lead to a better deal than that proposed by...
Soo Line was founded to serve Twin Cities’ millers and ag interests
(Source: Freight Waves, April 22, 2021) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The Soo Line Railroad (SOO) is the primary U.S. subsidiary rail-road of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP), controlled by CP through its Soo Line Corpora-tion. Early in its history the MStP&SSM became known...
New York Penn Station reconstruction project advances
(Source: Railway Age, April 22, 2021) NEW YORK — The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), Amtrak and New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) have announced two alternatives to transform their separate concourses into one “open, light-filled” space in the...
Opinion: Chess game for railroad real estate
(Source: Railway Age opinion column by Jim Blaze, April 23, 2021) NEW YORK — A bidding war has broken out for the Kansas City Southern, but it’s actually more like a chess game. Here are some observations about what it all could mean, especially in terms of railroad...
UP warns about potential impacts of KCS merger
(Source: Freight Waves, April 22, 2021) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Any merger involving Kansas City Southern and either Canadian Pacific or CN should be scrutinized by regulators to ensure that the combined railroad doesn’t cause downstream impacts to the value of competing...
Lance Fritz says UP will be an “active participant” in CP or CN merger with KCS
(Source: Railway Age, April 22, 2021) NEW YORK — On Union Pacific’s April 22 1Q2021 earnings call, chief executive Lance Fritz was peppered with questions about the potential implications of Canadian Pacific or CN acquiring Kansas City Southern. Following is a...
CN confident of getting regulatory nod for KCS bid
(Source: Reuters, April 22, 2021) NEW YORK — Canadian National Railway Co said on Thursday it had informed Kansas City Southern’s board about its confidence in winning regulatory approvals for its $33.7 billion offer for the U.S. railroad. Full story: Reuters
War of words heats up in battle between CP and CN for KCS
(Source: Canadian Press, April 22, 2021) MONTREAL — The head of Canadian Pacific referred to its rival’s bid for Kansas City Southern as “fantasyland” as a war of words between Canada’s two largest railroads continue to head up. Full story: Estevan Mercury
BLET News
Teamsters honor 150 year anniversary of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen
The following is a statement by Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa and General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.
U.S. Senators thank BLET members on union’s 150th anniversary
Seven members of the United States Senate are congratulating the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and its members on the Organization’s 150th anniversary. Included are letters from Senators who lead labor and transportation committees thanking the BLET and its hard-working members for their many contributions to the railroad industry, to the labor movement, and to key workplace safety improvements that benefitted not just railroaders but many workers in other industries all throughout the United States.
Members of U.S. House recognize BLET’s 150th anniversary
Seven members of the U.S. House of Representatives have issued congratulatory letters recognizing the 150th anniversary of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.
Illinois Governor declares BLET Day; Three more states, two cities also honor BLET’s 150th anniversary
CLEVELAND, May 3 — Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has signed a proclamation declaring May 8, 2013, as “Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen Day” throughout Illinois in honor of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen’s 150th anniversary. Governor Quinn joined three additional state governments (California, Massachusetts, and Ohio) and two cities (Detroit and Marshall, Mich.) in recognizing North America’s oldest railroad labor union.
Thanks to our union heroes
By Dennis R. Pierce, BLET National President The horrifying scenes from Boston were difficult to watch last week. Cowards — called terrorists by some — detonated homemade bombs at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring hundreds of others. But the bravery of our fellow union workers in Boston provided a silver lining in what was otherwise a horrible tragedy.
Change notification for BLET members from Express Scripts Pharmacy
BLET members who receive medications through their home delivery pharmacy service may notice a change to their prescription bottle and the packaging it comes in. This is because members may get their medications from either an Express Scripts Pharmacy or a Medco Pharmacy beginning May 1. Medco is part of the Express Scripts family of home delivery pharmacies.
BLET urges investment in Amtrak at Senate hearing
At a Senate subcommittee hearing on April 17, John Tolman, Vice President and National Legislative Representantive of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, made a strong case for the U.S. to make a major investment in Amtrak — particularly along the Northeast Corridor — for the expansion of service and high-speed rail.
Email outage at BLET National Division
The BLET National Division Office is currently suffering an email outage due to complications with corrupt server software. As a result, email users attempting to contact the National Division are experiencing message delivery failures.
Greenfield Village event sold out at BLET 150th
Members and guests who have not yet registered for the BLET’s 150th anniversary celebration in Detroit are advised that the May 7 trip to the Henry Ford Museum/Greenfield Village is now sold out.
Overflow hotel, Greenfield Village update for BLET 150th anniversary celebration
The BLET National Division is announcing overflow hotel information for the Organization’s 150th anniversary celebration in Detroit in early May.
