North America - Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP) today announced that the entire North Dakota Congressional Delegation, consisting of U.S. Senators John Hoeven, Kevin Cramer, and U.S. Rep. Kelly Armstrong, submitted a letter to the Surface Transportation Board expressing support for a combination of CP and KCS.
 
The text from the letter written by the Delegation reads as follows:
 
Martin J. Oberman
Chairman
Surface Transportation Board
395 E Street, SW
Washington, DC 20423
 
Dear Chairman Oberman:
 
We write to express our support for the proposed merger agreement between Kansas City Southern (KCS) and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP).
 
We believe such an arrangement would serve the public interest by opening new markets for commodities produced in states served by CP, including North Dakota.
 
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
 
Canadian Pacific Railway is one of two Class I freight rail providers in North Dakota, both of which provide integral market access for much of North Dakota's commodity driven economy.
 
As a state rich with natural resources, including agricultural products, crude oil, and others, producers in our state rely on freight transportation to move their products to market.
 
Currently, shippers in North Dakota have direct access to ports in the Pacific Northwest, and thus much of Asia, through rail transportation provided by both Canadian Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF).
 
A KCS/CP merger would create the first Class I railroad with track in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, opening access to new markets for our State's producers in Mexico, while also providing a more direct route to markets in the Southern United States.
 
This in turn would increase competition and help our agricultural producers continue to provide the highest quality, lowest cost food supply in the world, while also contributing to our nation's energy independence.
 
Further, a KCS/CP merger would preserve the competitiveness of the rail industry among the limited number of Class I carriers operating in the U.S.
 
In fact, the proposed merger would remain the smallest of the Class I railroads, promoting competition among railways in the region and ensure railways provide efficient service and competitive rates.
 
Again, thank you for your attention to this important matter.
 
Please do not hesitate to contact our offices should you require more information or wish to discuss this matter further.
 
John Hoeven
U.S. Senator
 
Kevin Cramer
U.S. Senator
 
Kelly Armstrong
U.S. Congressman
 
Public Comment Period for CN Voting Trust
 
Now is the time for stakeholders to voice their concerns about whether CN should be able to lock in its anti-competitive plan to buy KCS via a voting trust.
 
Stakeholders can express their concerns directly to the STB by filing before midnight today.
 
On Thursday, CP announced that grain and other shippers across North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota have submitted letters to the STB opposing CN and KCS' combination, its use of a voting trust, or both.
 
In line with the public comment period for CN's proposed voting trust, CP plans to file comments today, explaining why the public interest costs of CN's proposed voting trust outweigh the non-existent benefits.
 
This public comment period, and the STB's subsequent deliberations, will determine the course of competition for U.S. railroading and North American commerce for the next 150 years.
 
Importantly, the STB has already approved CP's use of a voting trust and affirmed KCS' waiver from the new rail merger rules it adopted in 2001 because a CP/KCS combination is truly end-to-end, pro-competitive, and the only viable Class 1 combination.
 
As previously announced, CP is continuing to pursue its application process to acquire KCS so that the pro-competitive CP/KCS combination can be reviewed by the STB and implemented without undue delay, in the event KCS' agreement with CN is terminated, or CN is otherwise unable to acquire control of KCS.
 
Author unknown.