CSX files expanded application with STB to acquire Pan Am Railways

CSX Corp. today announced that it has submitted an amended and supplemented application to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) as part of the previously announced agreement to acquire Pan Am Railways Inc.

The amended application provides all of the additional details of the proposed transaction requested by the STB in its May 26 ruling.

The expanded application explains the benefits of the proposed acquisition for stakeholders in New England and beyond, said CSX President and Chief Executive Officer James Foote in a press release.

"The proposed transaction is an 'end-to-end' acquisition that will integrate the New England rail network owned by Pan Am into CSX’s national rail network, creating seamless single-line service," Foote said. "This will provide substantial benefits to shippers with low-cost, environmentally-friendly rail service with truck-like reliability."

Adding Pan Am to CSX's network will extend the reach of its service to more customers over more territory, he said.

More than 80 letters of support for the transaction have been submitted to the STB by shippers, elected officials and business organizations. CSX has also worked to reach agreements with other rail operators and organizations in the region to ensure that the transaction results in enhanced competition and a strengthened rail network in the Northeast.

The proposed transaction would result in significant investments in the region's rail infrastructure. Over the next five years, CSX would upgrade and modernize the Pan Am system. In addition, the Class I would operate Pan Am with a smaller, more reliable and more fuel-efficient fleet, significantly reducing fuel consumption and improving rail's environmental footprint in the region, CSX officials said.

CSX's operating model will benefit passenger and commuter carriers in New England as well as shippers as the company commits to maintaining or improving existing passenger service that operates on Pan Am, they said.

Headquartered in North Billerica, Massachusetts, Pan Am owns and operates a nearly 1,200-mile network and has a partial interest in the more than 600-mile Pan Am Southern system.

Pan Am's network across New England has access to multiple ports and large-scale commodity producers. The acquisition would expand CSX's reach in Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts, while adding Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine to its existing 23-state network.