It was an interesting juxtaposition. On March 1, Edward M. Emmett, president of the National Industrial Transportation League (NITL), told the Traffic Club of New York that his organization would focus its resources on improving the railroad industry's performance, its competitiveness, and its relationships with shippers. (See related story - NITL announces rail-reform campaign .) Just one week later, NITL's Railroad Transportation Committee—which has long championed the cause of shippers that have been affected by merger-related service problems—said it would support the Canadian National Railway's proposed acquisition of the Wisconsin Central Transportation Corp. (WC) under certain conditions.

The boards of both companies have agreed to the plan, effectively ending a battle between the current board and former Wisconsin Central president Edward A. Burkhardt for control of the financially troubled regional railroad. At the end of January, CN offered $1.2 billion in cash for the Rosemont, Ill.-based Wisconsin Central, which has 2,850 miles of track and trackage rights in the upper Midwest. The two railroads already interchange freight on a line between Superior, Ont., and Chicago. The acquisition would allow WC's customers to benefit more directly from the breadth of CN's North American network, and there will be end-to-end integration with no reduction in service as a result of the merger, say executives of both railroads.

NITL's railroad committee says the league's approval is contingent on receiving written assurances from CN and WC regarding three important issues. First, the two railroads must agree to maintain all currently available interchanges, both physically and "economically"—that is, retain currently applicable rates and charges for those interchanges. Second, the railroads must guarantee that they will maintain service standards after the merger. And finally, the shippers said, the carriers must agree to provide remedies if service should fail to meet existing standards.

In a meeting with the NITL's railroad committee, Paul Tellier, Canadian National's CEO, promised that the merger would not be anti-competitive in any way. He also told the group that the railroads would meet the conditions it had outlined.

CN is expected to file its formal application with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board this month. If the board does not treat the proposal as a "minor transaction"—and thus makes it subject to greater restrictions and a longer review period—CN has the right to abandon the plan.