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Rail News Home Norfolk Southern Railway 6/22/2021 Rail News: Norfolk Southern Railway
Norfolk Southern Railway has recognized 43 chemical customers who earned the Class I's 2020 Thoroughbred Chemical Safety Award for safely handling products regulated as hazardous materials.The companies are being honored for safely shipping or originating at least 1,000 carloads — a combined total of more than 156,000 carloads — over NS’s network without a single incident in 2020.As common carriers, NS and other U.S. railroads have obligations to provide transportation for companies that manufacture or use hazardous materials in their businesses, according to a new release. Typically, these products move in tank cars owned or leased by customers, who are responsible for maintaining the cars and ensuring they are properly secured for transit."Against the many challenges posed by a global pandemic in 2020, their safety achievement is even more commendable," said NS Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer James Squires in the release. "It is a testament to their ongoing commitment to ensure the safety of employees, the communities we serve, and the environment."For more than 25 years, NS has recognized chemical manufacturers and plants who safely handle products that are vital to U.S. consumers and businesses, but also are regulated as hazardous materials. The Chemical Safety Award aims to promote safe rail-shipping practices.A list of this year’s winners is available here.

Rail News Home Kansas City Southern 6/21/2021 Rail News: Kansas City Southern
Canadian Pacific today announced that more than 80 additional stakeholders have filed statements with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) expressing concerns about CN and Kansas City Southern's combination, its use of a voting trust or both.The latest statements bring the total opposed to more than 330, CP officials said in a press release. Together, more than 1,050 letters have been filed in support of CP's proposed combination with KCS or in opposition to the CN proposal.The letters highlight the extensive risks the proposed CN-KCS voting trust poses to competition by reducing shipper options, CP officials said. Stakeholders also expressed strong concerns about the likelihood of reduced service quality and infrastructure investments as a result of the proposed merger.Meanwhile, last week CN and KCS announced that an additional 100 letters in favor of their proposed combination were filed with the STB, bringing the total number of support letters that CN and KCS have received to greater than 1,500. Of the 100 or so filed last week, 90 of the letters support CN's and KCS's request that the STB approve their proposed voting-trust agreement.