Shareholders of Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern support $85 billion rail merger
Nov 14, 2025, 6:30 AM
FILE - A Union Pacific freight train travels along the tracks April 17, 2025, in Eloy, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Shareholders of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern backed the railroads’ proposed $85 billion merger to create the nation’s first coast-to-coast rail network.
Investors in both railroads voted to support the largest rail merger in history Friday, but the U.S. Surface Transportation Board must still approve it before the deal can be completed.
UP CEO Jim Vena has said that he hopes to file the formal merger application either in late November or early December, and that will initiate the lengthy review process.
The merger has picked up the support of the largest rail union and hundreds of shippers, but chemical manufacturers and competing railroad BNSF have raised concerns about whether the merger would hurt competition and lead to higher rates. President Donald Trump said after meeting with Vena in the Oval Office that the deal sounds good to him.
Vena has argued that the merger is great for America because it would enable the railroad to deliver goods more quickly and help the companies that rely on its deliveries of raw materials and finished products.
