Washington District of Columbia USA - In a letter on 6 Jan 2016 two senior Democrat Representatives on the House Transportation Committee, Peter DeFazio and Michael Capuano, urged the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to refuse any proposed acquisition of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NS) by Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (CP).
 
In November, CP offered the first of three bids, worth US$28 billion, that have all been rejected by NS.
 
Mr. DeFazio is the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation Committee, while Mr. Capuano is the top Democrat on the subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.
 
"There are already strong indications that this merger will serve as a catalyst for even more consolidation in the railroad industry leaving shippers with fewer choices, less competition, and prolonged service disruptions," according to both of them.
 
If the merger is allowed to go through, it would be the first involving railroads since the regulating authority revised the rules regarding railroad consolidation in 2001.
 
The new laws came into effect due to a rush of takeovers and acquisitions that reduced the amount of large American railroad operators from 35 to seven.
 
Besides Democrats, some customers of NS have also asked the STB to reject any potential takeover by CP.
 
Involving a large array of industries from automobiles to agricultural concerns, they believe that a merger will lead to increased rates for them as well as a decrease in service.
 
CP's last bid worth about US$30 billion for NS came on 16 Dec 2015 depending on the price of CP shares.
 
The company offered shareholders contingent-value rights that would have offered NS shareholders as much as US$3.4 billion, if its shares lost value during the merger process.
 
Hassan Ali.