Two companies submitted a new bid for Conrail.

The $1.65-billion bid, submitted to the Transportation Department, is significantly larger than the two proposals currently under consideration, both of which would call for a payment of $1.2 billion for the railroad. But Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Hanford Dole said in a statement that the new proposal by Allen & Co., a Wall Street investment house, and First Boston Corp. “appears flawed in numerous respects.” The two said that, if their offer is accepted, they will sell the railroad to investors and keep it independent. Dole has recommended that Congress approve the sale of Conrail to Norfolk Southern Corp.