STB sets schedules to consider CPKC, CSX plan to acquire G&W short line

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) on Nov. 3 decided the procedural schedules for Canadian Pacific Kansas City's and CSX's applications to acquire the Genesee & Wyoming Inc.-owned Meridian & Bigbee Railroad (MNBR).

Last month, the Class Is outlined in regulatory filings their plans to each acquire parts of the short line to create a new corridor that will link the U.S. Southeast with Texas and Mexico. CPKC and CSX announced the deal in June.

The MNBR runs between Meridian, Mississippi, and Montgomery, Alabama, and currently is operated under a combination of ownership and operating agreements.

Under the proposal, CPKC would acquire the 50.4-mile segment of the MNBR between Meridian, Mississippi, and Myrtlewood, Alabama. Dubbed the "Western Line," the MNBR would continue to serve the route after the acquisition.

In a separate transaction, CSX would resume operations on 107 miles between Myrtlewood and Burkville, Alabama, which has been leased to MNBR for the past 20 years. As part of the new arrangement, MNBR would no longer serve that route, dubbed the "Eastern Line."

In a related transaction, Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway, a G&W subsidiary, would acquire 9.5 miles of track on the Eastern Line.

The STB's Nov. 3 decisions on the applications and related proposed transactions can be found here and here.