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Joint venture of CSX and Norfolk Southern From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pan Am Southern, LLC (reporting mark PAS)[1] is a freight railroad jointly owned by Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) and CSX Corporation. PAS is independently operated by the Berkshire and Eastern Railroad, a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming. PAS owns trackage known as the Patriot Corridor between Albany, New York, and the Boston, Massachusetts, area, utilizing rail lines formerly owned by the Fitchburg Railroad and later on the Boston and Maine Railroad. It was previously operated by PAR subsidiary Springfield Terminal Railway.
| |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Franchise(s) | Berkshire and Eastern Railroad |
| Parent company | Norfolk Southern, CSX Transportation |
| Reporting mark | PAS |
| Locale | New England, New York |
| Dates of operation | 2009–Present |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
On May 15, 2008, Norfolk Southern Railway announced that it had come to an agreement with Pan Am Railways to "create an improved rail route between Albany, N.Y., and the greater Boston, Mass., area called the 'Patriot Corridor'."[2][3][4]
On March 12, 2009, Norfolk Southern and Pan Am received STB approval of the deal.[5] As of May 1, 2009, each of the two companies owns 50% of Pan Am Southern. PAR's trackage between Ayer, Massachusetts and Mechanicville, New York was transferred to PAS and continued to be operated and maintained by PAR's Springfield Terminal Railway Company subsidiary. NS transferred to PAS cash and property valued at $137.5 million.[6]
Planned improvements to the route included track and signal upgrades, and expansion of terminals, including new automotive and intermodal terminals constructed in Ayer, Massachusetts and Mechanicville, New York.[7]
Planned lines were as follows:[8]
As a result of CSX's purchase of Pan Am Railways in June 2022, Pan Am Southern will no longer be operated by PAR. CSX inherited PAR's 50 percent stake in Pan Am Southern, with competitor Norfolk Southern owning the remaining half.[9] CSX and NS reached an agreement to have Pan Am Southern be operated by a new Genesee & Wyoming subsidiary named the Berkshire and Eastern Railroad, which the Surface Transportation Board (STB) approved.
The United States Department of Justice had recommended that the STB require CSX to sell its stake in PAS as a condition of the merger to prevent a reduction in competition.[10] Railroads in New England, including Vermont Rail System and Canadian Pacific Railway, had also objected to the plan for G&W to operate PAS, as it would give G&W an even more extensive network in the region than it currently has.[9] Canadian Pacific in particular asserted in a filing to the STB that the purchase would give CSX control of both of the primary east to west rail lines in New England and leave other companies at a competitive disadvantage.[11] The STB rejected those arguments.[12]
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