In North America, the US Surface Transportation Board granted Canadian Pacific Railway regulatory approval for it's estimated $1 billion acquisition of the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corp. The acquisition was initiated in September 2007 but delayed a full year due to opposition from US political interests. The purchase, which received final approval Sept. 30, includes the Sioux Falls, SD-based companies two subsidiaries: Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad and Cedar American Rail Holdings.

The DM&E, which connects with Canadian Pacific at Minneapolis, Winona, MN and Chicago, is the largest regional railroad in the US and the only Class II railroad that connects and interchanges traffic with all seven Class I railroads. It serves eight states, including Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming. In addition to Chicago and Minneapolis, it provides access to Kansas City and key inland ports. The railroad has 2,500 miles of track, including approximately 500 miles of trackage rights, and rolling stock consisting of 7,200 rail cars and 150 locomotives. The acquisition enables Canadian Pacific to get containers more quickly and efficiently from the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert, BC to the central US.

As CP was receiving the transportation board's blessing, rival Canadian National Railway pressed a US federal court to force the same board to speed its decision regarding the railroad's proposed $300 million acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway. The Montreal-based railroad wants to secure the suburban Chicago rail line to bypass rail congestion in the central Chicago area and shorten its delivery times. Like its rival, Canadian National serves Vancouver and Prince Rupert, but it also links to Halifax and the St. Lawrence Seaway ports, including Montreal and Toronto.