The issue, really, is competition. The question is on what scale that competition will occur. And the immediate target is probably the KCS soap opera. To me, the original proposal (CP+KCS) made the most sense from a competition standpoint; CN already has 3-coast access, as would any "final merger" combination of US eastern and western railroads. CP doesn't. So a CP-KCS merger provides more potential competition between railroads than CN-KCS. In fact, if CN-KCS goes through, I predict the complete demise and liquidation of CP within 10-15 years.