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             California Public Utilities Commission
505 Van Ness Avenue, Room 5301            San Francisco, CA 94102
CONTACT: Armando Rendon           May 1, 1996            CPUC-040
         415-703-1366

         CPUC SETS WORKSHOP ON CENTRAL CORRIDOR IMPACTS
            OF UNITED PACIFIC-SOUTHERN PACIFIC MERGER

     The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) will
convene a public workshop on Monday, May 20, to consider how an
offer to buy one of the rail routes involved in the proposed
Union Pacific and Southern Pacific (UPSP) railroad merger will
affect competition in the Central Corridor, the rail route
between Northern California and the Midwest.
     The workshop will be held: Monday, May 20; 1 to 4 p.m.;
CPUC hearing room, 505 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco.
     Montana Rail Link (MRL), a Missoula-based railroad company,
wants to buy and operate one of the two lines serving the Central
Corridor.  It also proposes to operate the Modoc Line, a shortcut
which feeds traffic across Northeastern California between Oregon
and the Central Corridor.
     If the merger goes through as presently planned, UP would
abandon the Modoc Line and Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF)
would operate one of the two Central Corridor lines on a trackage
rights (leased) basis.  MRL would have no role.
     Key questions to be posed include:
     o  Would BNSF, which has its own routes to the Midwest,
        compete aggressively over a leased UPSP line?
     o  Is MRL, which proposes to buy the line, capable of
        providing intense competition?
     Speakers are asked to focus comments on the Central Corridor
and the merits of the two alternatives.  Views are particularly
sought from affected California shippers regarding Central
Corridor competition and its impact on rail rates.
     Information gathered in the workshop will help the
Commission prepare its brief, due June 3, to the federal Surface
Transportation Board, which is expected to make its final
decision on the merger by July.
     Persons wishing to speak at the workshop should contact
 Eugene Cadenasso of the CPUC by May 15 at 415-703-2352.    ###