Regulator to Scrutinize ‘Significant Safety Hurdles’ From Major Railroad Mergers

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Business

Regulator to Scrutinize ‘Significant Safety Hurdles’ From Major Railroad Mergers

Move could place another obstacle in way of Canadian Pacific’s uphill effort to combine with Norfolk Southern

By Ted Mann and Laura Stevens
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@TMannWSJ
[e-mail]
@laurastevenswsj

Updated Jan. 15, 2016 1:33 p.m. ET

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. faces an additional obstacle in its uphill effort to combine with Norfolk Southern Corp. , as federal regulators are concerned that mergers of major freight railroads can undermine safety. ... The Federal Railroad Administration, which regulates safety for the U.S. industry, expects to scrutinize the “significant safety hurdles” that would result from merging any of the nation’s major railroads, the head of the agency told The Wall Street Journal.

“Combining large rail systems, rule books, workforces, and safety cultures can lead to safety vulnerabilities and deficiencies,” Federal Railroad Administrator Sarah Feinberg said. “It’s our job to insure that safety is not only not compromised in any potential merger, but prioritized.”

Challenges include combining safety cultures of two different organizations, including determining which company’s safety rules and protocols will take precedence and how to restructure a combined workforce to maintain the same level of communication and protection each had individually.
....

Federal safety officials have zeroed in on mergers before when searching for the cause of safety lapses at major freights. The National Transportation Safety Board held a special hearing in 1998 into Union Pacific, after a series of accidents that killed workers and some members of the public following its merger with {Southern Pacific} the year before. The agency criticized Union Pacific management at the time for insufficient procedures governing employee workload and train dispatching.

[elleng]

1. HA!

Sounds like someone(s) gotten to the administration! Safety/operations has always been a consideration, in evaluating major rail mergers, but now they're going public with this 'concern!'

[Wellstone ruled]

2. C.P. Rails largest stockholder is in

over his head and in order to fix his screw up. Pull off a U.P. take over by S.P. style deal with billions of dollars in Junk Bonds with the key being deferred maintenance program. N.S. has some real issues with slow track orders and derailments. Don't think the Canadian Government is going to okay this deal.