Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern File Merger Application for Transcontinental Rail Network
- barboraarendasova
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
Union Pacific Corporation and Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) today filed an application with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) requesting approval to combine the two railroads. The companies entered into a merger agreement on July 29, 2025, to create America’s first transcontinental railroad.
The nearly 7,000-page application provides comprehensive and compelling new details on how the end-to-end combination will enhance competition and deliver broad public benefits. The application includes a record-breaking 2,000 letters of support from stakeholders, joining shareholders at both companies who cast votes that were 99% in favor of the merger.
America’s first transcontinental railroad will:
Connect the United States from coast to coast, transforming 10,000 existing lanes from interline service into faster, more efficient single-line service – eliminating time-consuming handoffs between railroads.
Move freight more efficiently, eliminating an estimated 2,400 rail car and container handlings and 60,000 car-miles each day.
Retain competitive shipping alternatives for the three customer locations out of more than 20,000 that are served by Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern but no other carrier.
Compete more effectively with long-haul trucking, converting an estimated 2 million truckloads of freight from road to rail annually.
Protect all union jobs – every employee with a union job at the time of the merger will continue to have one, and growth of the combined company is expected to create about 900 net new union jobs by the third year following the merger.
Further enhance competition by voluntarily creating Committed Gateway Pricing, streamlining pricing of interline moves for thousands of customer locations that otherwise may not directly benefit from the merger.
Keep open all existing gateways for eligible traffic on commercially reasonable terms.
Provide customers with a unified digital experience, with one accountable partner for their entire rail journey.
Invest an estimated $2.1 billion of incremental capital to support revenue and cost synergies, and expect $133 million in annual capital synergies.
“We look forward to working with the Surface Transportation Board as it reviews our historic application to create America’s first transcontinental railroad,” said Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena. “As time and technology continue to transform how freight is delivered, our industry must keep pace and move forward, reaching underserved markets with new rail solutions and strengthening the U.S. supply chain. Customers deserve stronger, more connected freight rail, and our merger will make that happen.”
“This combination will bring together Union Pacific’s expansive Western reach and Norfolk Southern’s unparalleled access to Eastern manufacturing and population centers in an end-to-end combination,” said Norfolk Southern President and CEO Mark George. “It will create a cohesive freight rail solution with 50,000 route miles that connect 43 states and more than 100 ports.”
Image source: up.com
