The West Virginia delegation sent a letter on Wednesday to U.S. Surface Transportation Board Chairman David Elliot, Vice Chairman Ann Begeman and board member Debra Miller opposing a plan by Canadian Pacific Railway to acquire Norfolk Southern.
U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Reps. Evan Jenkins (R-WV) and David McKinley (R-WV) detailed the potentially devastating impact on the economy of West Virginia in the letter, urging the board to review the details of the merger carefully.
“The state of West Virginia has invested millions in public-private partnerships with Norfolk Southern because we believe in building things and investing in our people,” the letter said. “Since Hunter Harrison took over in 2012, Canadian Pacific has slashed 6,000 jobs, and they have identified $1.8 billion in additional profits that they will wring out of the combined company. West Virginia cannot afford a corporate partner more focused on short-term gains for stockholders than the hard-working men and women who show up to work every day.”
The letter also detailed work done with federal dollars to improve the Norfolk Southern Heartland Corridor.
“The Norfolk Southern Heartland Corridor, for example, is one of the critical commercial arteries connecting Chicago, Illinois with Norfolk, Virginia, and it runs right through Southern West Virginia,” the letter said. “For more than four years, Norfolk Southern worked with the state of West Virginia, the neighboring states of Virginia and Ohio, and the federal government to develop the $350 million Heartland Corridor. Between Bluefield and Kenova, West Virginia, Norfolk Southern raised vertical clearances on 28 tunnels and removed 24 overhead obstacles on one of its main lines connecting the Mid-Atlantic to the Midwest. Norfolk Southern investments in West Virginia totaled more than $84 million in 2014, or roughly $102,000 for every mile of its network in the Mountain State.
“In 2012, the state of West Virginia, in partnership with Norfolk Southern and the U.S. Department of Transportation, invested $30 million to develop the Pritchard Intermodal Facility helping connect central Appalachia and West Virginia manufacturing with the world. This state of the art intermodal facility is a key part of the future logistics plan for our state. We are very concerned that any merger related cuts could ultimately jeopardize service to this facility and render millions of public investment moot.”
The letter follows Manchin’s Tuesday press conference in which he called for an immediate Senate investigation into the Canadian Pacific Railway proposal. Manchin warned that the details of the merger need to be reviewed thoroughly by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation prior to any part of the transaction proceeding.
More than 2,800 railroad workers are supported in West Virginia by the railroad industry, as well as approximately 7,900 retirees, spouses and survivors.