UP-NS Merger

Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are back at the Surface Transportation Board with an amended merger application, again pitching their tie-up as the deal that will create America’s first “transcontinental” railroad — and insisting the revised filing is even more airtight than the first.

The Surface Transportation Board on Friday unanimously rejected the major merger application filed by Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, finding the submission incomplete under federal regulations.

Union Pacific Corp. said it met with customers at the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers’ winter meeting to discuss the proposed merger with Norfolk Southern and respond to criticism of the transaction.