Union Pacific Corp. (UNP) and Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) announced that they have filed a joint application with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) seeking approval to merge and create America's first transcontinental railroad. The companies entered into a merger agreement on July 29, 2025, and the nearly 7,000-page filing outlines how the combination would enhance competition and deliver broad public benefits.
The application includes a record-breaking 2,000 letters of support from stakeholders, alongside shareholder votes at both companies that were 99% in favor of the merger. According to Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, the merger would connect the United States from coast to coast, transforming 10,000 existing lanes from interline service into faster, more efficient single-line service. The companies project that this would eliminate 2,400 rail car and container handlings and 60,000 car-miles each day.
The railroads emphasized that competitive shipping alternatives would remain available, with only three customer locations out of more than 20,000 affected. They also highlighted expected benefits such as converting 2 million truckloads of freight from road to rail annually, protecting all union jobs, and creating approximately 900 net new union positions by the third year following the merger. Additional commitments include maintaining open gateways, introducing Committed Gateway Pricing to streamline interline moves, and investing an estimated $2.1 billion in incremental capital to support synergies, with $133 million in annual capital savings anticipated.
In a separate statement, Canadian National Railway Co strongly opposed the merger, arguing that the application fails to demonstrate how the deal would enhance competition or generate significant public benefits. CN said the filing falls short of both the 2001 and earlier merger rules set by the STB.
CN confirmed it will actively participate in the STB review process and encouraged all stakeholders to engage to ensure that competition is preserved and enhanced.
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