CSX Corp. will submit an amended and supplemented application to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) as part of the previously announced agreement to acquire New England’s Pan Am Railway’s Inc.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the amended application provides all of the additional details of the proposed transaction requested by the STB in their May 26, 2021 ruling. The transaction expands CSX’s reach in Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts and adds Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine to the railroad’s 23-state network.
Headquartered in North Billerica, Massachusetts, Pan Am owns and operates a roughly 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 proposed transaction is an “end-to-end” acquisition that will integrate the New England rail network owned by Pan Am into CSX’s national rail network, creating seamless single-line service,” James M. Foote, president and chief executive officer of CSX, said in a news release. “This will provide substantial benefits to shippers with low-cost, environmentally-friendly rail service with truck-like reliability.”
The combination of CSX and Pan Am provides benefits to many stakeholders in New England, as evidenced by the over 80 letters of support that shippers, elected officials and business organizations have submitted to the STB. CSX has also worked to reach agreements with other rail operators and organizations in the region.
Officials contend the proposed transaction will lead to significant investments in the region’s rail infrastructure. Over the next five years, CSX plans to upgrade and modernize the Pan Am system, making the New England rail network more efficient and safer for operations, communities and passenger rail, officials said.
CSX said it will operate Pan Am with a smaller and more fuel-efficient fleet, reducing fuel consumption and improving rail’s environmental footprint in the region.
