COURT RULING ON STB MORATORIUM EXPECTED SOON

COURT RULING ON STB MORATORIUM EXPECTED SOON    The U.S. Court of Appeals has heard arguments supporting and opposing the Surface Transportation Board’s 15-month moratorium on major rail consolidations.
   The moratorium, which was sparked by a proposed $8.8-billion Canadian National Railway-Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. merger, has delayed the parties from going forward with their consolidation proceedings before the STB.
   STB’s legal authority to impose the moratorium was questioned by Judge David Santelle. But STB attorney Craig Keats said that allowing the merger application to be filed while the agency considered new rules to govern future mergers would have created “a nightmare.”
   Roy Englert, a Washington attorney, who represented CN and BNSF, argued that it was not incumbent on the STB to halt the merger review in order to set new merger rules.
   While the court gave no indication when a ruling on the legality of the STB’s moratorium will be handed down, most observers expect a decision as early as next week.