The Surface Transportation Board has accepted the merger application by Union Pacific Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp., and the railroads said it was an important step toward a reinvigorated, more competitive U.S. railroad industry.
In January, the STB ruled the initial application was incomplete because it did not contain certain information required by the Board’s regulations. The railroads filed an amended merger application on April 30.
Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern officials said the application’s analysis is the first in rail merger history to use 100% actual traffic data from all six North American Class I railroads, making it the most thorough assessment of market and operational impacts ever conducted.
The process now moves into the merits-based review, during which the STB’s procedures recognize that the agency may request additional information. In fact, in a previous merger transaction for a Class I railroad, the STB paused the procedural schedule after acceptance to obtain supplemental information about the transaction, and later approved the merger.
Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern said they would continue working closely with the STB to provide the requested information and further strengthen the record. Under the governing statute, the STB has 12 months from the date it publishes its acceptance to complete its evidentiary proceedings, providing a clear and defined path forward regardless of the timing of individual steps.
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