U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) welcomed news on Tuesday that Canadian Pacific Railway would drop its bid to take over Norfolk Southern.
Canadian Pacific announced on Monday that it would withdraw its proposed acquisition of Norfolk Southern for $30 billion before the Surface Transportation Board (STB) had a chance to rule on it, the Associated Press reports.
“After hearing the concerns raised by many local officials and employers across the state, it was clear that this merger would have hurt jobs, rail service and several ancillary industries in West Virginia,” Capito said. “Considering these negative impacts, I am pleased that Canadian Pacific Railway’s proposed takeover of Norfolk Southern has been stopped in its tracks.”
In January, Capito joined other members of West Virginia’s congressional delegation in writing a letter to Surface Transportation Board officials that highlighted the negative economic impact the merger would have had on the state.
Shuster, the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said that the proposal was bad for America, pointing to concerns raised by military officials about how the merger would have impacted national defense.
“This merger was not in the best interests of the country, the U.S. freight transportation system, railroad employees, and my constituents in central and southwestern Pennsylvania, specifically the hundreds of men and women at the Juniata locomotive shop in Altoona,” Shuster said. “I am glad that Canadian Pacific heard that message and decided to move on. The railroads should now focus on improving the movement of goods to continue our economic growth.”
Shuster previously said that Canadian Pacific’s two-year pursuit of the merger had “done nothing but create uncertainty in the rail industry.”
Canadian Pacific operates railroads in Canada, the Midwest and the South. Norfolk Southern operates railroads throughout the Midwest, East Coast and South. The proposed merger would have created a transcontinental railroad across the eastern U.S. and Canada which many observers thought could have set off a series of railroad mergers, the Associated Press reports.