The $100 Billion Rail Merger That Could Redefine America’s Supply Chains

Let's talk a little about how things work when it comes to railroads in America. Because power is concentrated in the hands of a few giants. For decades, it has been dominated by six companies.

Union Pacific (UP)
BNSF Railway
CSX Transportation
Norfolk Southern (NS)
Canadian National (CN)
Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC)

They control most of the long-haul freight traffic in North America.
They own vast networks of track, terminals, and infrastructure.

But a recent proposed mega-merger between Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS) could change everything.

Union Pacific has announced plans to acquire the Norfolk Southern Railway in a deal worth $85 billion. If approved by regulators, it would create the first transcontinental railroad network in the United States.

The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over 32,200 miles (51,800 km) routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans.

Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, with which it shares a duopoly on transcontinental freight rail lines in the Western, Midwestern and West South Central United States. (Wikipedia)

A Union Pacific and Norfolk merger would link the western and eastern strongholds into a coast-to-coast behemoth capable of moving freight from the Pacific to the Atlantic without handoffs.

Supporters argues that such a network could reduce bottlenecks, speeds up delivery times, and make American rail more competitive with trucking especially as driver shortages and high fuel costs persist.

With global supply chains under pressure, manufacturing shifting back to North America, and ports expanding, a unified rail giant could become the backbone of U.S. logistics. The question is whether the benefits of speed and efficiency will outweigh the risks of monopoly power.