UNION Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS) have submitted an application to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to merge the two companies, creating the first transcontinental freight railway connecting the east and west coasts of the United States.

According to UP and NS, the approximately 6700-page application provides “comprehensive and compelling” details of how the end-to-end merger would enhance competition and deliver a wide range of public benefits. The application includes 2000 letters of support from stakeholders.

Creating the first transcontinental railway would provide a faster, more efficient single-railway service to freight shippers. This would eliminate time-consuming interchanges and an estimated 2400 wagon and container handling operations as well as 96,000 wagon-km each day.

The merger partners say that this would enable rail to compete more effectively with long-haul trucking, enabling the modal shift of an estimated 2 million truckloads of freight from road to rail each year. Competitive shipping alternatives would be retained for the three customer locations out of over 20,000 that are only served by UP and NS.

Customers would benefit from “a unified digital experience” enabling them to integrate scheduling, tracking and shipment visibility. “Customers will have one commercial team, one contract, one invoice and one accountable partner for their entire rail journey,” the merger partners say.

UP and NS say they will continue to maintain dedicated systems to support passenger services operating on their infrastructure. A route-by-route analysis of projected traffic growth has verified sufficient capacity to continue fulfilling all service obligations to Amtrak and commuter agencies.

To implement what they describe as the most thoroughly planned merger in railway history, UP and NS expect to invest an estimated $US 2.1bn of incremental capital to integrate the two companies and deliver benefits to customers. The merger is expected to deliver $US 133m a year in capital synergies from more efficient use of the combined network and fleet.

Following the filing of the merger application on December 19 2025, the STB invited comments on its completeness by January 2. Parties subsequently claiming that the application is incomplete include fellow Class 1 railways BNSF, CN, CPKC and CSX, which as UP and NS point in their reply are their four major competitors that would experience increased competition as a result of the merger.

The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA), representing a major customer base for UP and NS, has also complained that the application is incomplete, but according to UP and NS its concerns relate to the merits of the application and not its completeness.

UP and NS maintain that the application contains all the information required by STB merger rules, “and presents a prima facie case that the proposed transaction is consistent with the public interest. The board therefore should accept the application,” UP and NS say.

The STB is expected rule on the completeness of the application by January 20. If the application is accepted and the STB does not require it to be amended, the formal evaluation process will begin, under which UP and NS expect the transaction to be completed by early 2027.

“As time and technology continue to transform how freight is delivered, our industry must keep pace and move forward, reaching underserved markets with new rail solutions and strengthening the US supply chain,” says UP CEO, Jim Vena.

“This combination will bring together Union Pacific’s expansive western reach and Norfolk Southern’s unparalleled access to eastern manufacturing and population centres in an end-to-end combination,” says NS president and CEO, Mark George.