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An appeals court decision July 14 upholding the Surface Transportation Board’s 15-month moratorium on new rail merger filings — which forestalled an expected “end game” of ultimate rail mergers — met a mixed reaction from railroads and their customers.

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The STB’s moratorium was triggered by an announcement in December of plans by the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe and Canadian National railroads to combine in an end-to-end merger.

Some railroads, like CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern, hailed the decision, as did some shippers. However, other shipper groups, like the National Industrial Transportation League, sided with BNSF and CN in challenging the moratorium.

And Anthony Hunt, an independent analyst who studies rail issues, said the moratorium “may prove positive for all concerned.”

For the full story, see the July 24 print edition of Transport Topics. .