A Union Pacific executive has responded to comments by Canadian National about the planned UP-Norfolk Southern merger, saying CN made “inaccurate claims” regarding the traffic study included in the initial version of the UP-NS merger application.
“The traffic study included in our filings with the Surface Transportation Board was conducted by the same expert CN (NYSE: CNI) used for its Iowa Northern merger and applies the same methodology,” Kenny Rocker, UP’s executive vice president, marketing and sales, wrote in a company status message posted Monday on the UP (NYSE: UNP) website. “It provides a reliable estimate of the traffic the combined Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern expect [sic] to attract by offering a more competitive, more efficient single-line service.”
CN has said that UP and NS (NYSE: NSC) “understated” the traffic they expect to gain from other railroads.
The original UP-NS merger application was rejected by the Surface Transportation Board as incomplete, with the board citing three issues, including problems with the railroads’ information on market share. A revised application is expected by April 30.
Rocker’s status report noted metrics for the week included freight car velocity of 226 miles per day, train velocity of 20 mph, and terminal dwell of 20.1 hours. “Over the past month, our network has demonstrated strong resilience, with our Operations team successfully restoring service across several impacted areas,” he wrote.
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Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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