Editing CSX Transportation (section)

===Conrail acquisition===
Government formed [[Conrail]] began to show promise in the early 1980s, showing a profit for the first time under the leadership of [[L. Stanley Crane]] in the wake of the [[Staggers Rail Act]]. The [[Reagan Administration]] wished to privatize Conrail now that it had shown it could stand on its own and placed it for sale in 1983. While CSX expressed interest, it ultimately did not place a bid for Conrail; Norfolk Southern did, however. When the government identified NS' bid as the winner, CSX realized it faced financial peril from a combined NS/Conrail system. The railroad fiercely argued against allowing the sale to go through, even arguing that monopoly concerns precluded a Conrail sale to either NS or CSX. Despite his history in organizing the NS merger while leading the Southern Railway, Crane was a strong advocate for Conrail's independence and proposed an alternative: privatizing Conrail through an [[initial public offering]] to the general public. Crane's solution was ultimately adopted in 1987, keeping Conrail independent.{{Sfn|Solomon|2005|pp=65-66}}

This was not the end of CSX and NS interest in Conrail, and attempts by both competitors resumed in the 1990s. This time, CSX struck first, announcing a surprise deal to purchase Conrail in October 1996. NS promptly made an offer of its own and began a bidding war with CSX that was only resolved in January 1997 when the competitors struck a deal to split Conrail between them.{{Sfn|Solomon|2005|pp=74, 76}}

On June 23, 1997, CSX and [[Norfolk Southern Railway]] (NS) filed a joint application with the [[Surface Transportation Board]] for authority to purchase, divide, and operate the assets of the {{convert|11000|mi|adj=on}} Conrail, which had been created in 1976 by bringing together several ailing [[Northeastern United States|Northeastern]] railway systems into a [[State-owned enterprise|government-owned corporation]]. On June 6, 1998, the STB approved the CSX–NS application and set August 22, 1998, as the effective date of its decision. CSX acquired 42 percent of Conrail's assets, and NS received the remaining 58 percent. As a result of the transaction, CSX's rail operations grew to include some {{convert|3800|mi}} of the Conrail system (predominantly lines that had belonged to the former [[New York Central Railroad]]). CSX began operating its trains on its portion of the Conrail network on June 1, 1999. CSX now serves much of the [[Eastern United States]], with a few routes into nearby Canadian cities.

The two competitors were unwilling to give one company full control of busy industrial areas in [[Detroit]], [[Philadelphia]], and northern New Jersey (the [[Chemical Coast]]). A compromise solution was reached by creating [[Conrail Shared Assets Operations]], a jointly owned [[switching and terminal railroad]] which would operate in these areas on behalf of both CSX and NS.{{Sfn|Solomon|2005|pp=77-78}}