Grainswest - Fall 2021

Fall 2021 Grains West 34 BY GEOFF GEDDES PHOTOS COURTESY OF CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY FEATURE As CP purchases KCS landmark deal won’t hurt, may benefit farmers A s Canada’s two national rail companies—Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) and Canadian National Railway (CN)— competed to purchase American rail line Kansas City Southern (KCS), Canada’s agriculture sector stood to benefit from the deal. In spite of its stature as America’s smallest Class 1 railway, KCS has long attracted the interest of CN, CP and other would-be buyers. “The battle to purchase KCS seemed to change daily,” said Mark Hemmes, president of Quorum Corporation. Headquartered in Edmonton, the independent organization monitors the Prairie grain handling and transport system for the federal government. “In the grand scheme of things, I’m not sure it mattered which railway got it, as the advantages to Canadian shippers are the same either way,” said Hemmes.