Railroad News

Rail News Home Union Pacific Railroad 4/30/2021 Rail News: Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad is building a state-of-the-art grain transload facility within its Global IV intermodal terminal in Joliet, Illinois.The UP Global IV Transload facility will be managed by JCT, a 50-50 joint venture between Consolidated Grain and Barge Co. and Gavilon Grain LLC.Construction began this month and completion is anticipated by fourth-quarter 2021. Once fully operational, the terminal will have the capacity to process 50,000 containers per year, UP officials said in a press release.UP Global IV Transload will be open to all Midwest agricultural producers and processors, expanding connection opportunities to both empty containers and UPs extensive West Coast port terminal network. Regional producers and processors will be able to transport their product by truck to Global IV, where it will be transloaded into containers for shipment by rail to West Coast ports, then loaded onto ocean carriers and shipped to overseas markets.The program will offer greater access to containers for exporters and faster turnaround times for ocean carriers, UP officials said."This facility will support the regional agriculture economy by providing reduced supply-chain costs and efficient loading support for exporting grain products, whole grains and oilseeds," said Kari Kirchhoefer, UP's vice president of marketing and sales premium. "By co-locating on site at G4, we create greater efficiencies within the supply chain."

Rail News Home CSX Transportation 4/29/2021 Rail News: CSX Transportation
CSX Corp. on Monday filed with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) an amended application for its proposed acquisition of Pan Am Railways Inc. and related rail carriers.April 26 was the first weekday CSX could file the amended application in response to an STB ruling that determined the Class I’s proposed transaction was “significant,” meaning it will require closer regulatory scrutiny by the board.The STB has four categories for considering railroad merger transactions: “major,” “significant,” “minor” and “exempt.” The categories involve different levels of procedural and substantive requirements for the board’s review. Because CSX’s proposal involves Class I and II carriers, the transaction could be considered significant or minor, but not major, which applies only to transactions involving Class Is, STB officials said in a prepared statement issued after its ruling last month.In finding the CSX proposal as a significant transaction, the STB focused on the potential outcome the merger could have on shippers’ competitive access to rail.