CSX Acquisition of Pan Am Railways

I'm sorry but the initial application was too well thought out and anticipating most concerns that would be filed. CSXT and PAR legal are going to eat these folks for breakfast.

CSX laid a bit of smackdown on VRS and VTrans with their comment about the Conn. River line:

Initially, VRS and VTrans fundamentally misunderstand the B&E Transaction and its effects on competition between PAS and GWI-controlled railroads in the area. PAS will continue to exist as an independent railroad. NSR and CSXT (once the Proposed Transaction is consummated) will own PAS, and B&E will operate PAS on a contract basis. B&E will simply receive a fee from PAS for acting as the contract operator of PAS. VRS/VTrans and the owners of PAS all share the same interest in having PAS operated as a competitive, independent
railroad. B&E will be contractually obligated to operate in the interest of PAS, not in the interest of other GWI-owned railroads to the detriment of PAS. B&E’s contract will be subject to termination if B&E violates this fundamental term of the arrangement. The owners of PAS would not allow B&E to harm competition on the Connecticut River line or elsewhere, because doing so would be against their economic interest.

There is absolutely no way that CSX would put themselves in a corner in terms of not having the ability to grow volumes moving over their the main line circumventing Boston. I take their comments to mean that they won't be concentrating their industrial Development efforts or locating any significant freight customers within the heavy commuter zones East of Framingham on the B&A or South of Haverhill on the Western. I don't see this as being much of a give as it's probably been a hundred years since a new customer located on the B&A East of Framingham (Wellesley, Weston and Newton probably aren't the best places to try and set up a factory) and I don't see much potential on the Western, Fitchburg or Lowell lines either.

What about the Chelsea Produce Center? How about doing something in Moran or along the Mystic Wharfs? What about the Woburn New England Transrail project that's still in the fight. What if the Woburn cement facility is reactivated? Is there more potential in Iron Horse Park? There are at least some possibilities. Just thought CSX was going to be more aggressive in seeking them out.

CSX's exact words aren't that they're committing to no changes, only that they don't expect significant changes in the foreseeable future. That leaves a lot of outs.

I'd think that any significant sources of new traffic would be "unexpected" at this point. Whether they're planning to go after new business or not, they'll wait until after things settle down. At that point MassDOT will be in a position to be the bad guy for whatever new business that may want to add rail service inside the commuter zone.

bostontrainguy wrote: ↑Fri Mar 19, 2021 3:46 pm What about the Chelsea Produce Center? How about doing something in Moran or along the Mystic Wharfs? What about the Woburn New England Transrail project that's still in the fight. What if the Woburn cement facility is reactivated? Is there more potential in Iron Horse Park? There are at least some possibilities. Just thought CSX was going to be more aggressive in seeking them out.

- Traffic already moves to the NEP and even if it grows, it's just thrown onto the existing train
- I would give Mystic Wharf traffic development less than zero percent chance of happening
- Transrail has been in development for years so it isn't like CSX is bringing them to the table
- That cement plant is ancient and highly unlikely that it will reopen. Even if it did, it's an existing facility that CSX is not developing

I did think it was interesting that most of the responses by CSX to the various requests were variations on "We will not change anything that Pan Am Railways, Springfield Terminal, et. al. have agreed to." They're not really committing to anything that MassDOT, the MBTA, or anyone else are asking for (except maybe to talk about it...)

bostontrainguy wrote: ↑Fri Mar 19, 2021 1:31 pm Coming down the Fitchburg Line from Ayer is the easiest approach to the "Boston" region anyway since the reconfiguring of the trackage in the Inner Belt area. There is a well informed poster who said that the State was actually required to put back in the loop track from Yard 8 and that CSX probably had enough interest in doing so even though Pan Am kind of rolled over about it. I have looked at every map and picture and cam shot (https://share.earthcam.net/GreenLineExt ... xL3e5z6WGU) to study just that possibility and I do not feel good about the return of the Yard 8 loop which is going to make approaching "Boston" via the Lowell Line awkward and time consuming. So I guess there will be an increase of freight trains on the Fitchburg Branch in the near future.

Not likely to come in the Fitchburg because they have no yard space at the Ayer end, that's PAS. Lowell or Lawrence will be used as is done now.

bostontrainguy wrote: ↑Fri Mar 19, 2021 3:46 pm What about the Chelsea Produce Center? How about doing something in Moran or along the Mystic Wharfs? What about the Woburn New England Transrail project that's still in the fight. What if the Woburn cement facility is reactivated? Is there more potential in Iron Horse Park? There are at least some possibilities. Just thought CSX was going to be more aggressive in seeking them out.

Foreseeable future can be as short or as long as they want. There is nothing on paper restricting the tonnage they can move. They are just trying to appease claims that the Commuter Rail network is going to be overwhelmed with freight.

roberttosh wrote: ↑Fri Mar 19, 2021 4:14 pm - Traffic already moves to the NEP . . .

Are you sure about this? I have heard that nothing has been going there for years. I know about the CSX/Pan Am handoff but has anyone seen any actual service. When I see recent pics of BO-1 going to Everett it has scrap and cement and that is it.

Correct - none of the produce customers have been able to get cars since UP retired the last of the Plate C fleet. Volumes had been really low before that too. Only in the last month or so have they started testing the waters with Plate F cars.

The Wilmington cement property has sold and a rail related development is in the works there.

I know business was down at the NEP but thought they still received some cars, apparently not. Either way I still think they would be considered an "active", grandfathered customer that the T wouldn't be able to complain about.

NYC27 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 20, 2021 5:16 pm The Wilmington cement property has sold and a rail related development is in the works there.

That's interesting news. What type of rail related product would be involved?

A transload.

And the cement maybe coming back, although with a new local company.

A bit OT but hopefully CSX makes the name "Pan American Railways" available for a truly North American RR to use - "Canadian Pacific Kansas City" RR is too clunky:

post1566472.html#p1566472

Speaking of cement. There’s a gravel facility just west of Brandeis on Fitch which appears to not have rail service.
Any potential there or is it in Ma DOT no zone?