Canadian Pacific-Norfolk Southern Bid Raises Lawmakers' Concern
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.’s bid to merge with Norfolk Southern Corp. has raised concerns among Democratic lawmakers from Illinois, who sent a letter to regulators urging them to consider potential negative impacts on the Chicago rail hub.
The legislators, led by Sen. Dick Durbin, told the Surface Transportation Board that Canadian Pacific hasn’t detailed how it would route traffic through the Chicago area and asked if the merger will “take business away from Illinois and the U.S.”
In a sign that Norfolk Southern has begun to rally politicians against the $27 billion merger proposal, the legislators expressed “deep concern” over Canadian Pacific CEO Hunter Harrison’s plan to “immediately assume control” over the U.S. railroad.
