The rail industry urged the STB to refrain from making presumptions either for or against mergers. Large mergers, especially those giving shippers new single line services through extended hauls, benefit shippers and the public interest, Schudtz said. Such mergers, properly structured and conditioned, should be approved by the board. Mergers that decrease competition should not be approved, he said. Burlington Northern Santa Fe attorney Richard E. Weicher cautioned the STB against presuming that benefits can be gained through alliances or joint ventures, rather than mergers.
Alliances come and go.
Canadian National Railway attorney Paul A. Cunningham said the proposed rules would stand in the way of transnational mergers, and would violated terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement, by requiring applicants to file corporate control rules. Such filings suggest a prejudice against non-U.S. entities, he said.