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Caption: Photo: A fairly common scene is NS and CP power on Train 641.. ethanol via Buffalo and Windsor - but a pairing of power now being considered in the boardrooms of two Class 1's..
Canadian Pacific has offered to purchase the Norfolk Southern Railway and railfan speculation aside, the deal is now in the hands of Norfolk Southern and Canadian Pacific management. From news reports, CP made the offer on November 9 but NS asked the letter be kept private until the CEO's Wick Moorman and Hunter Harrison meet in person, which happened on November 13. News of the offer was leaked to the media and made official on November 17. CP's current offer is non binding, and highly conditional: a 50% offer of CPR stock and 50% cash based on closing price on November 13 and it is highly speculated that the offer will be officially rejected by NS , leading to CP to consider making the offer sweeter for NS shareholders. That's all the news there is at this point, so let's go to the railfan side of things
So for railfans What may come about this change? Will any lines near you see increased traffic? or any redundant routes that you see which may be consideration for rationalization? Feel free to add your thoughts below. Please do not comment on the status of steam, heritage locomotives or your special paint schemes. We have no idea what may happen there - heck CP and NS could create an entirely new identity or assume one of the two current (CP or NS) identities. Leave that discussion for IF and after the deal goes through (and lets not forget the STB approval!)
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If this goes through, right away, I can see Train 142/3 going back to the Galt sub/NS instead of the current CSX routing via Buffalo.
Would NS traffic to Montreal be faster over the CP in Ontario?
Could the Galt/Windsor/Hamilton Subs see some run throughs to avoid congestion south of the lake? Especially in winter?
If this were to go through, could the trans-con line north of the Great Lakes become redundant? If this deal could solve the black-hole, which is Chicago would all the 100 series freight’s moving north of the border run south? After all there is not a whole lot of industry between Tbay and Sudbury…..
Not too mention our American brothers are cheaper labour than our Canadians.
Wick Moorman is all but retired ( eff Dec 31st )Jim Squires is who met Harrison, The offer was actually a “sizable premium” as the NS stock value was calculated for 45 days up to Nov 6th,,which was in the upper 70″s; however the leak on Nov 9th diminshed that impact… Of note there is a live webcast at 3 PM today from EHH at the UBS Trans conf…no doubt this will be a pleading of his case.
@daveYoung – how could CP run 10,000 foot double stacks south of the Great lakes? the tunnel at Windsor wont take domestic double stacks; the line south of Guelph Jct has it’s limitations from Waterdown down to Desjardins…then you’re on single track NKP west to Cleveland…
Snake, in the grand scheme of things, planning for and building a new tunnel would be how – and I thought this was already in the advanced stages of planning.
Just looked it up, it appears the tunnel is on hold for now, but wouldn’t take much to re-start it
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20150629/NEWS/150629845/detroit-windsor-rail-tunnel-project-put-on-hold-business-case-and
Lots of speculation for the reason of the merger, as was when CP was going to buy CSX. EHH and Pershing Square are trying to push CP’s shareholder price up. Both NS and CSX hold the key to the IHB through Chicago. The Windsor tunnel project will never happen, not under CP’s current manager and hedge fund controls . As for train routing, Clevland to Buffalo line, Galt Sub, Hamilton Sub and Windsor Sub all have issues. 142/143 would probably be consolidated with other trains in the CP system through the Hamilton Sub.