By JIM SCHUH
of The Gazette
Wisconsin Central Railroad President J. Reilly McCarren thinks the acquisition of Wisconsin Central by Canadian National will close in early October. His assessment came on the same day the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) agreed with a request from the two rail firms to treat the transaction as "minor."
Speaking to customers in Stevens Point Wednesday night, McCarren noted opposition by Great Lakes Transportation, which operates two small railroads and Great Lakes ships, but said, "There has been surprisingly little objection to this merger. I don't think it amounts to much."
The STB on Wednesday issued a ruling that noted the opponents didn't make enough of a showing that the transaction would have regional or national significance, or that it would result in anti-competitive effects that would outweigh the transaction's anticipated contribution to the public interest.
Assuming that no difficulties surface, the STB plans to issue a final decision on the deal Sept. 7. McCarren says , "We could conclude the transaction 30 days later." Comments and other evidence for STB consideration -- including filings from the U. S. Justice and Transportation Departments -- must be filed by June 25.
McCarren confessed to mixed feelings about selling Wisconsin Central. In his words, "Though this is a bittersweet moment for many of us at Wisconsin Central, because we do very much like the company that we built over the last 14 years, on the other hand, we do have somebody who's paying us roughly 10 times what was invested in the company ... and that's a pretty good measure of our success."
Canadian National has told Wisconsin Central customers that it has "committed to deliver service as good or better than you are receiving now."
CN adds the transaction won't have any adverse impact on competition, and in fact, will generate service efficiency gains for shippers and enhance transportation competition.
CN plans to operate Wisconsin Central as a sixth division. The Canadian railroad says the transaction "will secure CN ownership and control of a link in its NAFTA network between Superior (Wisconsin) and Chicago."
The railroad says it will retain ties to local communities, and that it has no plans to abandon Wisconsin Central lines, and that it intends to maintain Wisconsin Central's major operation centers, customer service, dispatching, crew calling and mechanical shops at their present locations. CN also says workforce reductions resulting from the transaction "will be relatively minor, and will be mitigated by normal attrition and CN's commitment to retrain and/or relocate employees.
In its filings with the STB, Wisconsin Central and Canadian National says they ultimately expect productivity of the locomotive and car fleets will allow the combined operation to eliminate most locomotive repair work at Stevens Point, relying instead on the Fond du Lac facilities, and to reduce the need for car repair work at both Stevens Point and Fond du Lac.
McCarren told the Gazette he could add nothing more about plans for Stevens Point.
Canadian National has 3,900 miles of track in 14 states, and routes of 11,600 miles in eight Canadian provinces. Wisconsin Central operates nearly 2,500 miles of track in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Northeastern Illinois and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.