Overview of the Transaction

On April 30, 2026, Union Pacific Corporation (UPC), Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP), Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC), and Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NS) (collectively, Applicants) filed a revised application with the Surface Transportation Board (Board) in Docket No. FD 36873 seeking authority for (1) the acquisition of control by UPC of NSC, and through NSC of NS and NS’s rail carrier subsidiaries, and (2) the resulting common control by UPC of UP and NS and the consolidation of the rail operations of UP and NS (the Transaction).

UP operates approximately 32,880 miles of rail line in 23 states in the western two-thirds of the United States.  UP has eight principal routes: three anchored in Chicago, three anchored in Los Angeles, one between border crossings in Mexico and Chicago, and one between Seattle and Los Angeles.  NS operates approximately 19,200 route miles in 22 eastern states and the District of Columbia.  Four principal routes are the core of NS’s network. Three run between Chicago, Atlanta/Chattanooga, and the Northeast, and the fourth runs from Chicago to Norfolk, Virginia.  UP and NS provide rail service to a variety of industries, including agriculture and minerals, automotive, chemical and petroleum, energy, industrial, and consumer products.

If the Board authorizes the Transaction, UP and NS would combine into a single rail system to be known as Union Pacific.  The Transaction would be mostly “end to-end” because the existing UP and NS systems only overlap in Missouri and Illinois.  The combined UP-NS network would comprise approximately 50,000 miles of track in the U.S. across 43 states, including rail lines over which Applicants have trackage rights.

In a decision dated May 28, 2026, the Board stated that due to the potentially significant impact that the Transaction may have on the quality of the human environment, the Board will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement in this proceeding. The decision holds the proceeding in abeyance, including the environmental review, and orders Applicants to submit supplemental information by July 27, 2026.

Last updated on May 27, 2026