Washington, D.C. — Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) issued the following statement after the Surface Transportation Board (STB) voted unanimously to reject a proposed trust as a precursor to the merger of the Canadian National (CN) and Kansas City Southern (KCS) railroads, citing concerns that the trust is not in the public interest. Chair DeFazio made the same point in a July 2021 letter he sent to the STB expressing his opposition to the proposed trust.
“The decision by the Surface Transportation Board to unanimously reject the proposed Canadian National and Kansas City Southern trust sends a warning to Wall Street that further railroad industry consolidation must meet a necessarily high bar for being in the public interest. I applaud the Surface Transportation Board for their work to closely scrutinize impacts in shipping markets, workers’ rights, and the impact to intercity passenger rail. I’m glad that the STB followed my call because Wall Street shouldn’t be allowed to call the shots when it comes to railroad consolidation that would hurt the U.S. economy and American workers.”
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