Calling all travel seekers! Vancouverites may soon be able to hop on a train that takes them all the way to Mexico.
Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern have filed a merger application with the Surface Transportation Board to create a single-line railroad system linking Canada to Mexico and the U.S.
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Canadian Pacific Railway’s New Rail Merger
Appropriately dubbed the Canadian Pacific Kansas City, the railway would be a first of its kind in North America.
“We are excited to file our joint application for this unique, pro-competitive combination and once-in-a-lifetime partnership,” said CP president and chief executive officer Keith Creel, in a news release.
The new railroad would provide new routes, reach broader markets and expand shipping opportunities for customers. It would also support economic growth across the continent, including the creation of more than 1,000 direct new jobs system-wide. And help to avoid more than 1.5 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions over the next three years.
Support for the Merger & Next Steps
There have been more than 960 stakeholders who wrote letters to the STB supporting CP’s proposed combination with KCS.
“CPKC is an extraordinary opportunity to inject new competition and new capacity into the U.S. rail network, further USMCA trade flows, improve safety, grow employment and facilitate new passenger services. We are ready to work with the STB as the board gives this transaction a thorough and appropriate review, and ultimately look forward to approval so we can get to work delivering these benefits to the North American economy.”
According to the Canadian Press, CP shareholders will vote Dec. 8 on the issuance of shares in connection with its proposed acquisition of Kansas City Southern.
The new merger also needs to be approved by Mexican regulators. But if it does become a reality, how cool would it be if you could actually travel to Mexico via train?!
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