October 6, 2022 - Trains.com -
WASHINGTON — Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern made closing arguments for their proposed merger on Thursday, telling regulators that their combination was in the public interest and that critics either didn’t do their homework or were seeking conditions that would stifle competition.
They also said that the CP-KCS merger would not lead to operational problems in Chicago or Houston.
The railroads didn’t get to finish their testimony before the Surface Transportation Board on Thursday, however. The seventh and final day of the public hearing is set to run from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday. The hearings were initially set for three days, but STB Chairman Martin J. Oberman said he didn’t want to rush the railroads or board members. “There’s just too much at stake here,” he says of what’s likely to be the last Class I railroad merger.