D&H South End Sale to NS - APPROVED 5/15/15

More rumors to indicate this may be a done deal today. Its all over some other railroad message boards. Still nothing official

Matt Langworthy wrote:I'm calling Bravo Sierra. Like many other internet rumors, this one gets passed around alot with no facts to back it up. Where's the STB filing? As publicly traded corporations, both NS and especially CP would have a duty to announce such a deal to their shareholders. The suppsoed sale of the former D&H to NS is much more likely to be a foamer's dream than reality.

It is all rumors until it happens but the fact remains that NS already dominates 95% of the traffic on these lines already!

if its not on here : http://www.stb.dot.gov/decisions/Readin ... lyReleases" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; its not happening.
no one buys any railroad or track without STB approval.

DutchRailnut wrote:if its not on here : http://www.stb.dot.gov/decisions/Readin ... lyReleases" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; its not happening.
no one buys any railroad or track without STB approval.

Agreed. The shareholders of both RR would probably have to be notified. As an NS shareholder, there has been no news about acquiring part of the former D&H from CP in any of NS's reports.

I think somebody saw an inspection train and jumped to conclusions.

All the cp workers were told a few months ago the south end is forsale. And CP wants it gone by the second quarter if 2015. They stopped all the work they had planned for the southend. Has anyone heard any new updates.

longest running rumor going...along with the east end of the tier coming back!

No they are definitely going to sell... or at least try to. Who is going to end up with the line is anyone's guess. I don't think it's set in stone at all.

NYSW with NS & CSX footing the bill.

Just think about the advantages to all parties!

And the advantages are???

Setting aside my opinion about the D&H sale being foamer hogwash, I don't think NS would want to give CSX a toehold in the Scranton-Wilkes Barre area... which would happen (indirectly) if NYSW bought the line.

Reading and Northern?

I don't think the R&N would fly with the STB. Both the Luzerne & Susquehanna and the Delaware-Lackawanna could cite competition issues with the R&N being the sole connecting carrier.

Matt Langworthy wrote:And the advantages are???

Setting aside my opinion about the D&H sale being foamer hogwash, I don't think NS would want to give CSX a toehold in the Scranton-Wilkes Barre area... which would happen (indirectly) if NYSW bought the line.

"A toehold into the Scranton Wilkes Barre area"?? Is there some major shipper that CSX is drooling to get access to?" While there has been no firm statement of sale of the north end of the D&H, current CP management has made it quite clear that they will accept reasonable offers for properties that they deem surplus or providing insufficient return(read: DM&E). The D&H is currently in the (unfortunate) process of downsizing the number of dispatchers they utilize to run the D&H and since the bulk of their traffic is NS movements from Binghamton south and north it would be logical for NS to acquire that portion of the property, provided the sale price is equitable and agreements can be made with operating crafts to NS's benefit. While perhaps not imminent, I would beg to argue that the discussion is just "foamer hogwash"....

It's definitely for sale... I'm just not convinced that NS is going to be the buyer.

I would expect to see either the G&W group, LA&L group, or some other shortline holding company get it before anyone else, although the line is a good fit to NS in some ways.

I would be surprised if anyone but NS got it. NS has the majority of traffic on it. NS's New England intermodal market is reliant on the D&H. A lot of freight traffic moves via NS for the northeast. NS is very interested in north/south traffic. Look at all the overhead traffic on the line and where does most of it come from? NS. NS already runs 3 pairs of trains on the line and CP moves one pair plus the coal trains for NS. To top that off, besides for the G&W, who would have the capital to buy the line (excluding other Class 1s)? And doesn't NS have first right of refusal on the line?

For me, all points lead to NS getting the line. What actually happens and when is to be determined. All the rumors are just that until I see something filed with the STB and I receive notification via the union.