CSX Acquisition of Pan Am Railways

Norfolk Southern has sued CSX over Pan Am Southern:

https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews ... w-england/

In a seven-month period ending on Dec. 31, NS said it documented 58 trains that exceeded the maximum of two CSX trains per day between Harvard Station and CPF 312, an area where lines from Boston, Eastern Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine converge; 274 trains that exceeded either a 9,000-foot limitation for through trains or a 4,750-foot limitation on trains that work Ayer Yard; 261 instances where CSX used Pan Am Southern crews for CSX work; and 321 times where CSX delayed trains at Ayer Yard.

I'm surprised CSX agreed to a limit of 2 length-restricted trains through Ayer per day - that's barely enough to cover existing traffic.

I am surprised about that limit too. Unless it was tied to the Hill yard improvements. There was supposed to be a throughfare track built and other yard upgrades. I don't recall if there were stipulations in the STB document.

NS had a chance to own all of PAS and decide their own destiny. But they declined and are now paying the price. Infact, CSX would sell their share of PAS to them tomorrow but they would still decline.

Yes the takeover is dragging on but expecting CSX to fully silo PAS vs CSX activities, crews, and operations while the ST is still the common carrier for both is unreasonable and not the intent of the agreement.

IMHO NS sealed their own fate (an almost guarantee that CSX is going to screw them going forward) by going this route instead of waiting another month for B&E to takeover for full segmentation between the railroads.

I’ve noticed on my scanner at home (which covers the dispatcher from about Rigby through Rockingham Jct) that those operations have transitioned from District 2 to District 1

Mr. Newpy, lest we forget that Topper's management has had "a few other concerns of late" and the matter of protecting/enhancing their interests regarding PAS/ST/BRE has possibly been "back burnered".

The lawsuit text itself contains some interesting details, including the actual text of the agreement between Norfolk Southern and CSX pertaining to the area around Ayer (the Joint Use Agreement), which is attached to the appendix.

Some interesting tidbits:

• Section 3(k)(i) of the Joint Usage Agreement says that CSX is limited to one "overhead" train pair a day through the area around Ayer (from Harvard Station, MP 25.7, to CPF 312 just past Willows. They also get one additional local train or one Pan Am-Ayer turn job train, though this local is only permitted to carry 1,000 loads and 1,000 empties per year, per Section 3(l).

• #53 says that for this one train pair, CSX pays a trackage fee to PAS, which averaged $16 per car in 2022

• #54 says that for train pairs beyond that one pair, CSX is supposed to pay PAS to move the cars, and pay PAS $1,579 per car to move the cars

• #55 says that the CSX train pair must not exceed 9,000 feet each, excluding locomotives, if it's not stopping or doing work at Hill Yard, and must not exceed 4,750 feet (the length of the main line track through Hill Yard) if it's going to work Hill Yard. This 4,750ft length can be made longer if CSX pays to extend the running track through Hill Yard - Section (3)(k)(iv)

• Section 3(k)(ii) and (iii) provide for CSX operating additional trains after CSX and NS agree to build additional infrastructure around Hill Yard at CSX's expense. CSX cannot exceed more than 2 train pairs a day until 3 years after the Pan Am purchase goes through (so May 2025).

• #63 says the number of PAS engineers and conductors went down from 84 in May 2022 to 66 in July 2023.

• #43 says that CSX has not yet started improving clearances on the Worcester Main for double stacks

Buried in "Appendix B - Commercial Appendix" of the Joint Use Agreement on the 63rd page of the complaint (labelled page 30) is this interesting tidbit:

Section 2. Intermodal Haulage Compensation

(a) Compensation.

CSXT shall cause Pan Am Southern to be compensated for the Intermodal Haulage by causing Pan Am Southern to be paid a sum computed by multiplying (i) the Intermodal Haulage Charge, as hereinafter defined, by (ii) the number of units (loaded or empty) moved.

(b) The Intermodal Haulage Charge.

(i) The Intermodal Haulage Charge for CSXT traffic or Springfield Terminal traffic shall initially be set as follows:

Intermodal Equipment Rate Per Intermodal Unit
Loaded Intermodal Units between CPF 312 and the Mechanicville Facility $xxx
Empty Intermodal Units moving between the Mechanicville Facility and CPF 312 $xxx

Interesting that there's a provision in the Joint Use Agreement for the future haulage of CSX IM traffic across PAS to/from Mechanicville.

As of Friday 8/4/23, no visible work has been performed to rework the NS-CSX connection at Voorheesville. The old D&H track remains buried in the Main St Xing. There are no survey stakes outlining a new RoW from the Albany main to a relocated turnout off the Selkirk branch. There’s no wiring work visible that would facilitate new or relocated crossing gates. It’s interesting that NS specifically mentions in its lawsuit the lack of CSX Worcester main clearance work to accommodate double stacks for NS but it says nothing about the lack of connection work at Voorheesville.

Unrelated but train activity is quiet at Voorheesville Friday at midday as there was a major CSX manifest derailment at Hoffmans about 20 miles west at around 8AM .

Jamie Boychuck, Chief Operating Officer and one H.H's PSR minions, is out at CSX. This is huge, and I expect major changes from this shake up.

taracer wrote: ↑Fri Aug 04, 2023 12:54 pm Jamie Boychuck, Chief Operating Officer and one H.H's PSR minions, is out at CSX. This is huge, and I expect major changes from this shake up.

What changes can even be made?

Also, don't get your hopes up. Afterall, they could just promote someone with a similar ideology afterall.

I think you'll find much can be done.

Look at the folks who are filling that role until a replacement is found. They predate any EHH BS by a long time. There is no reason someone similar (or one of them) cannot be found or promoted from the ranks. The new Sheriff sees how bass ackwards some of the stuff they are /were doing.

Yes, and they have already made a bunch of changes. Such as having the Pan Am bound trains being its own pool out of Selkirk and bringing back another train pair to and from Worcester, which labor had been saying needed to be done for years.

They have also relaxed the DP requirements. Under Boychuck, it was a system wide requirement that a certain percentage of originating trains in a terminal had to be DP. So, you would have a 50 car 424 that had to be DP , and all the added time on both ends dealing with the DP just to go 90 miles. Selkirk could not make the call locally to not DP that train, and things like this made every trip a 12-hour deal.

That has changed.

Seems like staffing and hiring has been a huge problem
No idea how the executive change might impact that
But what might is the yellow truck bankruptcy— thousands of folks in transportation on the street looking for work

The unverified (and never will be most likely) rumor is his departure is related to the NS lawsuit and related issues.

I bet they'll settle out of court.