STB approves CSX plan to acquire Pan Am Railways

The Surface Transportation Board late last week approved CSX's application to acquire Pan Am Systems and its short-line subsidiaries, including Pan Am Railways Inc.

CSX officials expect to close on the acquisition on June 1. Pan Am owns rail lines and provides rail service on a freight-rail network in New England, from Maine in the north to the Boston region in the south, and west to near Albany, New York.

"We look forward to integrating Pan Am, their employees and the rail-served industries of the Northeast into CSX and to working in partnership with connecting railroads to provide exceptional supply chain solutions to New England and beyond," said CSX President and CEO James Foote in a press release.

The STB determined that CSX's control of Pan Am would not likely result in less competition or create a monopoly or restraint of trade. The board also found that any anti-competitive effects that might be caused by the sale would be outweighed by the public interest in meeting significant transportation needs, STB officials said in a press release.

The board also determined that the merger would result in several key benefits, including:
• much needed capital investments in, and more consistent maintenance of, the Pan Am network;
• additional marketing opportunities and more efficient single-line service for shippers;
• opportunities for CSX to compete for more traffic moving via long-haul trucking; and
• environmental benefits from greater fuel efficiency and lower emissions resulting from CSX’s use of newer line-haul and switching locomotives, compared to Pan Am’s locomotives.

The board's full decision on the merger application can be read here.