KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, US — The Canadian National Railway Co. (CN) and Kansas City Southern (KCS) have jointly filed with the US Surface Transportation board (STB) a renewed motion for approval of its voting trust that outlines the case for approval of the voting trust to advance the CN-KCS merger.

On May 21, KCS decided to end its merger agreement with Canadian Pacific (CP) and entered into a merger agreement with CN.

As part of its joint trust filing with the STB, CN has committed to divest KCS’ 70-mile line between New Orleans, Louisiana, US, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, US, which is less than 0.7% of the approximately 27,000 route-miles the two companies operate. It eliminates the sole area of overlap between the CN and KCS networks, thereby making the combination an end-to-end transaction.

“We believe our early commitment to eliminating the minimal rail overlap and to laying out the case for a CN-KCS combination should allow the STB to approve our voting trust,” said JJ Ruest, president and chief executive officer of CN. “A trust is an essential step so KCS shareholders can receive the full value of their shares while the STB considers our case for a combined, end-to-end rail network and the significant public benefits of connecting the continent. This combination will promote growth and compete with the trucking industry for long-haul movements. It offers more choice for rail customers, port operators, employees, stakeholders and communities.”

Patrick J. Ottensmeyer, president and CEO of KCS, added “Combining KCS with CN is compelling for our customers, employees, shareholders and the local communities in which we operate. We urge the STB to fully consider the benefits of this combination, and to respect KCS’ judgment about its preferred merger partner, so that we can realize the tremendous public interest advantages of the CN-KCS partnership on behalf of our stakeholders, many of whom have expressed overwhelming support.”