UNION Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS) submitted a letter of intent to the US Surface Transportation Board (STB) on February 17 confirming plans to resubmit their merger application. The submission was made by the deadline set by the STB when it rejected the first merger application from UP and NS in January.
The letter says that the two Class 1 freight railways anticipate refiling on April 30. If approved, the merger would create the first transcontinental railway in the United States, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
UP and NS entered into a merger agreement on July 29 2025. In their initial 6700-page application to the STB filed on December 19, they described the proposed transaction as an “end-to-end combination [that] will enhance competition and deliver broad public benefits.”
The STB rejected that application in a unanimous decision on January 16, stating that that it did not include certain information required by the board’s regulations. This included future market projections showing the combined effects of merger-related growth, diversions, and merger-influenced and other changes to market conditions that applicants anticipate.
In a statement provided to IRJ’s sister publication Railway Age, UP senior director - corporate communications and media relations, Kristen South, says the railway has notified the STB “that we intend to refile our merger application with NS and remain fully committed to addressing their request for additional information.”
“America’s first transcontinental railroad is supported by more than 2000 stakeholders who understand how this end-to-end combination will enhance competition and deliver broad public benefits by shifting an estimated 2 million truckloads from the highway to rail, protecting union jobs and driving substantial cost savings,” South says.
