STB rejects call for probe into CPKC's Meridian Speedway service

The Surface Transportation Board last week denied requests from the Norfolk Southern Railway and Union Pacific Railroad to require CPKC to address intermodal rail service issues on the Meridian Speedway, a rail line between Meridian, Mississippi, and Shreveport, Louisiana.

In September 2025, NS asked the STB to direct CPKC to provide a plan to restore intermodal train service on the speedway, which CPKC acquired as part of Canadian Pacific's acquisition of Kansas City Southern Railway in 2023.

According to NS, since CP’s acquisition of KCS, there has been substantial deterioration of intermodal train service provided by CPKC over the speedway and at the Shreveport gateway. The service deterioration has impacted several intermodal customers, some of whom have diverted their traffic from rail service to trucks, NS claimed, according to the STB's decision document.

NS contended that the decline in intermodal service is "inconsistent with representations that CP and KCS made to the board in the merger proceeding," and that it's within the board's authority to direct CPKC to restore service to "acceptable" levels and provide a service action plan, according to the STB document. 

In a separate request, UP asked the board to investigate deterioration in service over the speedway and hold CPKC to what UP argued are CPKC's commitments made in the CP/KCS merger proceeding.

But in its March 13 decision, the STB ruled that NS and UP did not prove the need for the board's intervention and denied their request.