NS

When the merger agreement was initially announced, the rail carriers said it would create the nation’s first transcontinental railroad—which will connect more than 50,000 route miles across 43 states from the East Coast to the West Coast and connect around 100 ports as well.

With a merger application for the proposed $85 billion historic merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern expected to be filed with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) this week, more than half of union employees at the railroads indicated they are not in favor of the merger. That is the word from the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen (BLET) and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, whom collectively account for 53% of UP and NS union employees, with the two unions...

While a December 1 date for the merger application to be sent to the Surface Transportation Board (STB), regarding the historic proposed $85 billion merger between Class I railroads Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS), had been widely anticipated, UP CEO Jim Vena said at the UBS Global Industrials and Transportation Conference this week that the merger’s submission will be delayed for about two weeks.

Late last week, a bipartisan Senate duo—John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)—penned a letter to leadership at the Surface Transportation Board (STB), including STB Chairman Patrick Fuchs, Vice Chair Michelle Schultz and Member Karen Hedlund, in which they stated they plan to “closely scrutinize” the proposed Class I railroad merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, with a focus on being able to demonstrate long-term competition in the freight rail sector, with clear and tangible improvements.

In expressing their collective concern regarding the proposed Class I freight railroad carrier merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, a letter sent to President Trump from the American Chemistry Council (ACC), on behalf of 40 member-company chemical manufacturing CEOs, explained that should this deal come to fruition, it could have negative effects on United States manufacturing in various ways.

The prospects of the proposed Class I rail carrier merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern appear to be closer to coming to fruition are picking up steam.

A letter sent this week by the Rail Customer Coalition (RCC), a concern comprised of trade associations representing the manufacturing, energy, and agricultural industries reliant on railroads, to the leadership at the Surface Transportation Board (STB), an independent adjudicatory and economic-regulatory agency charged by Congress with resolving railroad rate and service disputes and reviewing proposed railroad mergers, laid out various concerns and reservations that RCC has in regards to the proposed merger between Class I railroad carriers Union Pacific and...

The most recent organization to come out against the deal is the Freight Rail Customer Alliance (FRCA), a group comprised of large trade associations representing more than 3,500 electric utility, agriculture, chemical, and alternative fuel companies.

While leadership at Class I railroad carriers Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS) touted the benefits of this week’s announcement, coming to terms on an $85 billion deal in which UP will acquire NS—to create the nation’s  first transcontinental railroad that will connect more than 50,000 route miles across 43 states from the East Coast to the West Coast and connect around 100 ports as well—feedback from various shipper groups has been less than receptive to the deal.

Following a heavy amount of speculation that Omaha-based Union Pacific (UP) was taking steps to acquire Atlanta-based Norfolk Southern (NS), in first Class I railroad merger since the April 2023 deal, in which Canadian Pacific acquired Kansas City Southern for $31 billion, that was subsequently respectively confirmed by the companies in recent days, UP and NS announced today that they have come to terms on an agreement for a deal.

A Bloomberg report, citing people familiar with the matter, noted an agreement could be reached as soon as this week, adding, if the deal came to fruition, it would represent the largest railroad deal on record.

The company announced yesterday that its Board of Directors unanimously appointed NS Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Mark R. George as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately, adding that George will also join the NS Board.

NS officials said that should this agreement be approved by the court, it will resolve all class action claims within a 20-mile radius from the derailment and, for those residents who choose to participate, personal injury claims within a 10-mile radius from the derailment.

At this point, anyone who has seen Martin J. Oberman, Chairman of the Surface Transportation Board (STB), a Washington, D.C.-based independent adjudicatory and economic-regulatory agency charged by Congress with resolving railroad rate and service disputes and reviewing proposed railroad mergers, speak at a freight railroad conference, knows he is not holding anything back. That again was the case, when he gave a keynote speech at last week’s Southeastern Association of Rail Shippers (SEARS) 2024 Spring Meeting in Atlanta.

CN and NS officials said that this new service will provide customers with an integrated, market-competitive, and efficient all-rail service. And they added that this service will connect CN-served Canadian markets with Norfolk Southern-served Kansas City and Atlanta, which they referred to as the heart of the fast-growing manufacturing and consumer base in the Southeastern U.S.