Railroad News

Rail News Home Canadian Pacific 7/30/2021 Rail News: Canadian Pacific
Canadian Pacific yesterday announced it filed a proxy statement asking Kansas City Southern shareholders to vote against the proposed CN-KCS combination at KCS' special meeting of stockholders scheduled on Aug. 19. CP is asking stockholders to vote against the proposed combination so that CN's proposed acquisition can be decided at a later date, when more information will be available to KCS stockholders. "CP has always said it wanted to do a friendly deal with KCS and that remains true," said CP President and Chief Executive Officer Keith Creel in a press release. "CP would have preferred not to appeal directly to KCS's stockholders, but given the impending vote on CN's proposal, we believe we have no choice. What we are doing here is simply contesting the vote on the CN-KCS proposal because a 'yes' vote now would lock KCS stockholders in until February 2022, instead of their being free to consider other, better, options.” CP wants to ensure that KCS stockholders are aware that a vote “without the benefit of an STB decision on the CN voting trust proposal and without a chance to consider other proposals until the spring of next year, would not be in their best interests," Creel added. CP maintains that its proposed merger with KCS “remains the only viable Class I combination,” according to the release. The STB has already approved CP’s use of a voting trust and affirmed KCS's waiver form the new rail merger rules it adopted in 2001 "because a CP-KCS combination is truly end-to-end, pro-competitive, and the only viable Class I combination," they said.

Rail News Home Canadian Pacific 7/29/2021 Rail News: Canadian Pacific
Canadian Pacific yesterday announced second-quarter financial results, including these Q2 records: revenue of CA$2.05 billion, an adjusted operating ratio (OR) of 55.3%, diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.86 and adjusted diluted EPS of $1.03. CP's Q2 revenue climbed 15% from the year-ago period. Year over year, net income rose to CA$1.2 billion from CA$635 million. The Class I's reported OR of 60.1%, which includes Kansas City Southern acquisition-related costs, increased by 310 basis points from 57% a year ago. The adjusted OR, which excludes the KCS acquisition-related costs, improved 170 basis points, CP officials said in a press release. In addition, CP reported that Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)-reportable personal injuries declined 34% to a record-low 0.77 from 1.16 in Q2 2020, and its FRA-reportable train accident frequency decreased 70% versus Q2 2020's 1.19 to a record-low 0.36. "Our industry-leading team of railroaders delivered another record quarter. I am particularly proud of our all-time record safety performance made possible by the collective efforts of the over 12,000-strong CP family," said President and Chief Executive Officer Keith Creel. "The robust base demand environment coupled with our unique growth opportunities has CP extremely well positioned as we head into the second half of the year."

Rail News Home Canadian Pacific 7/26/2021 Rail News: Canadian Pacific
Canadian Pacific today released its first comprehensive Climate Strategy, which charts a path to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adapt operations to the physical risks of climate change and further position the Class I as a leader in the transportation sector's transition to a low-carbon future. Building on CP's Climate Change Commitment announced last year, the Climate Strategy outlines the company's approach to drive innovative climate action and a measured response to emerging climate-related risks impacting the rail sector, CP officials said in a press release. The Climate Strategy outlines CP's objectives across five strategic pillars: establishing a clear understanding of climate-related risk and opportunities; reducing the company's carbon footprint; adapting operations to the physical risks of climate change; integrating climate factors across the business; and engaging with stakeholders on climate action. To guide implementation of the Climate Strategy, CP has established two science-based emissions reduction targets that address 100 percent of CP's Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, and more than half of Scope 3 emissions. CP commits to reducing Scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions intensity of its locomotives by more than 38% by 2030. Locomotive operations represent CP's largest source of emissions. To support decarbonization across all operations, CP also commits to reducing absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions from non-locomotive operations by in excess of 27% by 2030. "CP's Climate Strategy is ambitious, which we feel appropriately reflects the urgency of the fight against climate change. We look forward to collaborating with government, industry and research partners to create and test the new solutions required to achieve our targets," said CP President and Chief Executive Officer Keith Creel. CP's Climate Strategy, and supporting science-based emissions reduction targets, have been developed in alignment with the goals of the Paris Agreement and the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, which seek to limit global temperature increases to well below 2°C.

Rail News Home Canadian Pacific 7/19/2021 Rail News: Canadian Pacific
Canadian Pacific officials say that speculation over whether train operations sparked a wildfire that destroyed the British Columbia village of Lytton late last month is "irresponsible and misleading." CP issued a statement in response to the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada's investigation into whether rail operations are responsible triggered a wildfire that destroyed the village of Lytton in British Columbia. On June 30, smoke was spotted on the nearby hills around the pedestrian bridge which parallels the CN bridge at Lytton. Due to the high winds and dry conditions in the area, a fire, which had ignited, quickly spread to the Lytton, destroying many buildings and homes. Two fatalities were reported. TSB deployed an investigation team on July 9 to gather information and assess. In a statement given to the Canadian press, TSB Chair Kathy Fox said that a full TSB report on any train-related cause or contributing factors in connection to the Lytton fire could take up to two years. Additionally, Fox is reported to have stated that it "is certainly a wake-up call to really look at what precautions need to be taken by railway companies," CP officials noted in their statement. In light of the early stage of this TSB investigation, CP officials believe "it is irresponsible and misleading to imply that railways are to blame for the fire," according to CP’s statement. "A review of the key facts confirms that railways are not a significant cause of wildfires in B.C., contrary to media and government speculation,” CP officials said. “The vast majority of wildfires are caused by nature when environmental conditions are extremely hot and dry, like those recently experienced in B.C.” To read CP's statement in its entirety, click here.

Rail News Home Canadian Pacific 7/8/2021 Rail News: Canadian Pacific
Canadian Pacific has pledged CA$1 million to support wildfire recovery efforts in Lytton, British Columbia. In addition to making monetary donations, CP has offered to work directly with the village of Lytton, Lytton First Nation, Thompson-Nicola Regional District and other agencies to provide resources and logistics support in the development of temporary housing for families that have been displaced, CP officials said in a news release. CP has been matching employee donations made to the Canadian Red Cross in support of disaster relief in the area, and encourages employees in Canada and the United States to continue donating to help residents. "Our thoughts are with all those affected by this devastating fire, including the CP employees who lost their homes," said Keith Creel, CP president and chief executive officer. "So many lives have been impacted. We hope that this support will help the community and the team of responders as they begin to recover and rebuild." A village of a population of about 250 people, Lytton went up in flames last week during extremely hot and dry conditions across the province. About 90% of the village was burned in the fire and two people died, according to media reports. Investigations into what sparked the fire are ongoing.