STB seeks comments on, industry reps react to UP-NS merger app

The Surface Transportation Board is inviting public comments on whether the Union Pacific Railroad-Norfolk Southern Railway merger application filed Dec. 19 is complete.

Comments on completeness may be filed by Dec. 29, 2025; UP and NS may file a reply to those comments by Jan. 2, 2026, STB officials said in a decision and press release. 

Comments on the merits of the proposed transaction will be sought at a later stage of the proceeding — if the STB accepts the nearly 7,000-page application. UP announced July 29 that it would acquire NS in an $85 billion transaction to create the first U.S. transcontinental freight railroad.

Meanwhile, several rail industry organizations or their representatives issued statements after the application was filed on Dec. 19.

Following are summaries of some of those reactions.

"The transaction poses a significant threat to the U.S. economy and the American consumer through its long-term competitive harms. It would leave shippers with fewer options—driving higher rates and ultimately higher prices for consumers. This didn’t begin with customers asking for this merger, and the claimed public benefits appear to accrue primarily to shareholders." — BNSF Railway CEO Katie Farmer

"We will be examining the application from at least two perspectives: Whether it complies with the board's 2001 Major Merger Rules and provides the STB and interested parties an adequate basis for evaluating the public interest consequences of the UP-NS proposal; and whether the UP-NS proposal is consistent with the public interest." — Canadian Pacific Kansas City

"The application ... fails to demonstrate that the merger would enhance competition or generate significant public benefits that would require a merger. It falls well below both the 2001 and old merger rules set out by the [STB]. ... The fact is that this merger would reduce rail transportation options for customers while creating a single entity that controls more than 40% of the US freight rail market. Without real railroad competition, prices go up and consumers lose." — CN

"As the STB prepares to consider the proposal, ACD encourages the board to conduct a rigorous and comprehensive evaluation of the proposal’s merits and reject this merger. ACD strongly opposes this merger proposal as it will expand monopolistic control of freight rail at the expense of America’s critical chemical supply chain.” — Alliance for Chemical Distribution (ACD) President and CEO Eric Byer

“Passenger trains depend on fair and reliable access to freight-owned tracks. A merger of this scale could jeopardize that access and undermine decades of progress toward a more connected national rail network. The STB must ensure that passenger rights and public mobility are not sacrificed in the name of shareholder gains.” — Rail Passengers Association President and CEO Jim Mathews

“[The railroads'] promised commitment to significantly invest in a more efficient rail network, increase safety and enhance competition is encouraging. However, with a merger of this size I want to ensure the STB is deliberative in assessing what potential effects this would have on the system as a whole. ... I am confident in the STB’s processes and expertise to provide a thorough review in making their final determination.” — House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.)