STB to review CSX, CP-KCS cases 'expeditiously,' chair says

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has received a "notice of intent" regarding Canadian Pacific's proposed acquisition of Kansas City Southern, which as a merger between two Class Is would be classified as the first "major" transaction to seek board approval in more than two decades, STB Chairman Martin Oberman announced yesterday.

Also, the board expects to publish tomorrow a notice in the Federal Register about another significant transaction: CSX's proposed acquisition of rail carriers owned by Pan Am Systems and Pan Am Railways. The notice will determine whether the transaction will be classified as "significant" or "minor," which has become a point of disagreement among railroads, government entities, local lawmakers and others who've filed comments with the STB about CSX's proposal.

The STB has exclusive authority to review such transactions and to determine whether to issue requisite approvals, Oberman said in a prepared statement.

"The agency intends to scrutinize the transactions carefully and diligently, in keeping with the applicable statutory and regulatory frameworks," he said. "Additionally, the agency is committed to moving forward expeditiously, while ensuring meaningful opportunities for public participation and stakeholder comment."

Meanwhile, Oberman also announced this week that the STB has designated William Brennan director of the Office of Economics. He will serve as the board's chief economist.

Brennan has served the office for many years and has been carrying out the functions traditionally handled by the chief economist. Although the designation will not add to his duties, it signifies Brennan's "many previous substantial contributions to the agency and our continued reliance on him as the board's primary adviser," Oberman said in a press release.

Brennan joined the board in 1999, and later, after a stint in the private sector, became deputy director of the Office of Economics in 2007. He has been director of that office since 2016. Prior to joining the board, he was an economist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, specializing in railroad issues. Before that, he worked for the Association of American Railroads.