CN wants STB to rule on EJ&E purchase

CN wants STB to rule on EJ&E purchase Canadian National Railway Co. has asked the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to take a new approach to CN’s proposed acquisition of the major portion of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Co.
   In an petition filed last week, CN asked the STB to issue a final decision on the transportation merits of the transaction in time to permit the transaction to close before year-end, but to preserve the environmental status quo pending further STB action on the environmental issues posed by the transaction.
   CN said the new approach would assure adequate protection of the environment for communities along the EJ&E, where some residents oppose the purchase, and at the same time, “avoid the risk to the broader public interest in improved rail transportation posed by regulatory delays that threaten termination of the transaction.”
   CN’s petition requests that the STB decide by Sept. 15, whether it will modify its procedural schedule to provide for a final decision by Oct. 15, on the transportation merits of the proposed EJ&E acquisition.
   “This transaction has far-reaching economic and transportation benefits to the Chicago region, the Midwest, and the nation as well as for CN and its customers,” said E. Hunter Harrison, CN president and chief executive officer.
   Harrison contended the plan by CN to buy the EJ&E “enjoys significant support from a broad array of shippers and the range of other parties who have a stake in making sure that the serious rail congestion issues plaguing Chicago are being addressed by sound transportation initiatives.”
   CN said it is entitled to and requires this relief because the STB declined CN’s request for a fixed timetable that would conclude its regulatory and environmental review by the end of the year and, despite CN’s continuing best efforts, a substantial risk remains that EJ&E, which is an indirect subsidiary of United States Steel Corp., would terminate the proposed transaction if it is not closed before year-end.
   CN said that if the STB does not act by September 15, 2008, CN will be prepared to petition the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit immediately thereafter to compel the STB to issue a final decision that would permit CN to close the transaction by the end of the year.