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THE ROUNDHOUSE

by Bill McCaffery

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MVRS  Waybill – Roundhouse  Column

The big news in New England railroading is that CSX has acquired Pan Am Railways. Here is the announcement from the CSX WEB SITE.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – November 30, 2020 - CSX Corp. (NASDAQ: CSX) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire New England’s Pan Am Railways, Inc. (“Pan Am”), whose rail carrier subsidiaries comprise North America’s largest regional railroad.

Headquartered in North Billerica, Massachusetts, Pan Am owns and operates a highly integrated, nearly 1,200-mile rail network and has a partial interest in the more than 600-mile Pan Am Southern system.  Pan Am’s network across New England has access to multiple ports and large-scale commodity producers. The transaction will expand CSX’s reach in Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts while adding Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine to its existing 23-state network.

The transaction will provide significant benefits to shippers and local communities as CSX integrates Pan Am into its best-in-class network. CSX made nearly $1.5 billion in infrastructure capital expenditures in its network in 2019, supporting economic growth and ensuring the safety and efficiency of the supply chain.

James M. Foote, president and chief executive officer of CSX said: “In Pan Am, CSX gains a strong regional rail network in one of the most densely populated markets in the U.S., creating new efficiencies and market opportunities for customers as we continue to grow.  We intend to bring CSX’s customer-centric focus and industry-leading operating model to shippers and industries served by Pan Am. We look forward to integrating Pan Am into CSX, with substantial benefits to the rail-served industries of the Northeast, and to working in partnership with connecting railroads to provide exceptional supply chain solutions to New England and beyond.”

David A. Fink, president of Pan Am Railways said: “Pan Am is pleased to reach this agreement with CSX, a North American leader in rail-based freight transportation. This is great news for New England shippers and the national freight network overall.”

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to regulatory review and approval by the Surface Transportation Board.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is acting as financial advisor and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is acting as legal advisor to CSX in connection with the transaction.

Note that the press release does not mention that the other owner of Pan Southern is CSX’s arch rival Norfolk Southern.

 

The famous “Fiscal Cliff” legislation contains a Commuter Mass Transit benefit. This will allow public transportation riders to pay their transportation costs to work with as much as $240 of pretax dollars each month. (Newsday)

Iowa Pacific has obtained a controlling interest in Cape Rail Inc. and the Cape Cod Central Railroad.

The former Boston and Albany RR Grand Junction Branch is now owned by the MBTA. The T bought this branch to shuttle engines and cars back and forth between South Side and North Side of its commuter rail operations. A bridge inspection determined that the Grand Junction’s Charles River bridge is no longer safe. This has created some opportunities for rail photographers to get pictures of MBTA and Amtrak engines and cars on Pan Am’s Ayer to Worcester line. (NERAIL and Railpace)

The historic 1888 station in Stoughton, MA is up for sale by Transit Realty Associates. The station building has not been open to passengers in recent years.  (Railpace)

There has been another guilty plea in the Long Island Railroad disability fraud case. The case involves retirees filing false disability claims with the Railroad Retirement Board (Newsday via NERAIL).

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is threatening to cancel a $190 million contract with Hyundai Rotem for new commuter cars. The new cars due in 2012 are off schedule and the one train set that has arrived for testing is having problems. Senior Hyundai Rotem officials have recently visited Boston in an attempt to address the problems (Trains Newswire)

The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority has said that ridership on the Downeaster’s new service to Brunswick, Maine is exceeding expectations. However not everyone is happy. Some neighbors are complaining to their elected officials about the noise of the idling train which sits in Brunswick for five and a half hours per day. (Bangor Daily News).

MBCR is pilot testing a  "Conductor Companion" program, which initially will provide 24 conductors with specialized mobile devices (modified iPhones) that are programmed with MBCR's "Conductor Companion" application. Half the conductors will cover the North Side and half on the South Side. These devices will allow conductors to know the location of all other MBCR trains, so conductors can keep passengers informed about delays.  (Railway Age).

Bartonsville Covered Bridge in Vermont has been rebuilt and is now open. The original bridge was washed away by Hurricane Irene. Bartonsville Covered Bridge is a road bridge adjacent to the Green Mountain RR and has long been a favorite prop for rail photographers. (NERAIL)

CSX has announced completion of the work needed to run double stack container trains from the New York state line to Worcester, Mass. This has been a joint project with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. (Progressive Railroading)

From the Boston and Maine Railroad Historical Society Newsletter dated NOV / DEC 2020: Severe wind swept across much of New England on the weekend of October 9 – 11. The former B&M roundhouse in East Deerfield Yard suffered significant damage to the roof structure and beams. There has been a tough 2 years for old B&M buildings. Losses include Plymouth, NH freighthouse, Gonic, NH freighthouse, South Bennington, NH station, Mt. Whittier, NH freighthouse, and a good bit of what remains of the Concord, NH shops.

 

Let’s end this column with a little vocabulary lesson. – portmanteau: - Most of us know that the word AMTRAK is a blend of American and track. Perhaps you did not know that such a word blend is called a portmanteau.

 

 

 

 


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Revised: Nov 2020