CPKC rejects calls for rail consolidation, warns of industry risks

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) says it has no interest in participating in further rail industry consolidation, despite calls for the company to consider it.

CPKC said it does not believe additional mergers are needed, pointing to the strength of its three-nation network and opportunities through industry partnerships.

“We believe that a transcontinental merger would trigger permanent restructuring of the industry and result in a disproportionately large railway whose size and scope would require others to take action,” said Keith Creel, CPKC president and CEO. “This will likely result in an unnecessary wave of railway mergers that today is not the best way to support American businesses nor the public interest, and has the potential to create more issues than it solves.”

The statement comes on the heels of the merger between Union Pacific Corporation (UPC) and Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC) at the end of July to create America’s first transcontinental railroad.

The union between UPC and NSC connects over 50,000 route miles across 43 states from the East Coast to the West Coast, linking approximately 100 ports and nearly every corner of North America.

CPKC said the existing six major U.S. railways can already provide near-seamless service, citing its alliances with CSX in the Southeast U.S. and a recent BNSF-CSX partnership as examples of cooperation without consolidation.

CPKC added it will continue pursuing collaborations such as the Southeast Mexico Express service with CSX, saying service improvements and capacity investments, not mergers, are the best way to support shippers and the economy.