Dec. 31, 2025:
Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) called on the Surface Transportation Board to reject the merger application filed by Union Pacific to acquire Norfolk Southern.
If approved, the merger would greatly reduce competition in Class I rail and worsen the already poor service and high costs experienced by farmers and food manufacturers while jacking up consumer costs as businesses pay more to get their products to market.
“As farm families watch the cost of almost everything skyrocket, the last thing they need is a rail merger that all but promises to raise prices and worsen already inadequate service for farmers, manufacturers, and businesses,” Baldwin said. “Approving this merger would take us in the wrong direction by stifling competition, worsening service, and raising costs on the consumers and businesses who are already facing growing headwinds because of the Trump administration’s trade policies.”
The merger would be the most significant consolidation in freight rail in decades and reshape the entire rail industry.
Dec. 24, 2025:
Two railroad companies submitted a comprehensive application to the Surface Transportation Board requesting approval to combine two major freight railroads into what would be the first transcontinental railroad in America. Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern filed the request late last week, representing what could be a landmark development in the U.S. They’re proposing to create a unified rail network across the nation from coast to coast.
Freight Waves reports that the almost 7,000-page application gives a specific explanation on how the combination would enhance competition throughout the freight industry while delivering public benefits to their customers, employees, and communities across the country. The merger agreement, which outlines that Union Pacific is acquiring Norfolk Southern, was put in place on July 29, 2025, setting the stage for the regulatory application. The move isn’t without critics, as it has drawn opposition from trade groups, unions representing engineers and track workers, and rival carrier BNSF.
Meanwhile, The Fertilizer Institute released a statement in response to the application submission with the Surface Transportation Board requesting approval of a merger between the Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern railroads.
“The Fertilizer Institute relies heavily on rail and many shippers already operate with limited transportation options, increasing costs, and continued service challenges, all with a ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ approach from railroads,” the statement said. “Our priority is a rail system that provides reliable service and a balanced relationship between carriers and carload shippers, with accountability for systemic rail service failures and a rate review process that’s efficient, timely, and economical.”
The Institute also said that while it’s still reviewing the filing, it’s “difficult” to see how any coast-to-coast merger would improve this imbalance or meet the standard set out in the Surface Transportation Board’s merger rules.
“Railroads hold all the cards, and larger mergers only stack the deck,” the Institute added.
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