Rail Passengers Responds to UP-NS $85B Merger Filing

For Immediate Release (25-16)
December 19, 2025
Contact: Joe Aiello ([email protected])

Rail Passengers Association Responds to Release of Union Pacific’s Filing for $85 Billion Merger with Norfolk Southern

Washington, D.C. — The Rail Passengers Association today expressed deep concern over Union Pacific’s application to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) [Docket No. FD 36873], seeking approval for an $85 billion merger with Norfolk Southern. If approved, this deal would create a transcontinental mega-railroad spanning 43 states—an unprecedented consolidation that raises serious questions for the long-term future of the U.S. rail network for tens of millions of rail passengers. [stb.gov]

Millions of Americans rely on intercity and commuter trains that operate over Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern rights‑of‑way. This merger introduces dramatic uncertainty for those passengers, as past consolidations have often led to service disruptions, reduced access, and diminished accountability for host railroads.

“Passenger trains depend on fair and reliable access to freight‑owned tracks,” said Jim Mathews, President & CEO of Rail Passengers Association. “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.”

History offers sobering lessons. The 1996 Union Pacific–Southern Pacific merger triggered widespread freight congestion that rippled across the national rail network, delaying trains for months and forcing costly schedule adjustments. Similarly, the 1999 Burlington Northern–Santa Fe and Canadian National merger attempt raised alarms over diminished competition and service reliability—concerns that are only more relevant today, with even less competition within the industry. These precedents underscore the need for rigorous oversight to prevent harm to both passengers and freight customers.

[Surface Transportation Board’s UP-NS Merger Resources Page]

Beyond passenger concerns, shippers, farmers, manufacturers, and railroad workers have voiced strong opposition to the deal, warning that it could erode competition in the freight rail market. With fewer major carriers controlling vast swaths of the nation’s rail infrastructure, these stakeholders fear higher shipping costs, reduced service options, and increased vulnerability to supply chain disruptions.

Initial Analysis of UP Filing

Today’s filing is nearly 7,000 pages, and will take time to fully review. However, in our initial analysis of the sections relevant to passenger rail, Rail Passengers has identified several claims by UP that require further scrutiny.

“Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern repeatedly claim this merger will allow additional freight trains while merely 'maintaining existing passenger service levels,' which is a notably low bar for a transaction of this scale,” said Mathews. “That assertion is hard to reconcile with Union Pacific’s own statements a few years ago that it would cost roughly $1 billion just to add enough capacity to make the already-existing Sunset Limited a daily passenger train — suggesting the promised capacity gains may be far thinner than advertised.”

From a passenger perspective, the proposed Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern merger offers little evidence of meaningful rail service improvement. The carriers repeatedly state that added freight traffic can be accommodated while maintaining current passenger service levels, but that's a standard that preserves the status quo rather than enabling the service growth, reliability margins, or additional frequencies that Federal rail policy now seeks to promote.

Moreover, many of the cited passenger benefits depend on public or state-funded projects already underway, rather than new, merger-driven investment by the railroads themselves. At the same time, these assurances come from two companies with well-documented histories of noncompliance with passenger on-time performance requirements, raising legitimate questions about enforceability. In short, the transaction appears designed to protect existing obligations rather than advance passenger rail expansion, leaving passengers and the public with limited upside and significant execution risk.

Understanding Next Steps

Today’s UP filing officially launches a review process that will take most of 2026, with the potential to stretch into 2027.

The STB will have 30 days to accept or reject the application. If accepted, there will be a 45-day window for public comments and a 90-day window for responsive applications.

The STB will also be tasked with compiling an evidentiary record to understand the full implications of the proposed merger over the course of next year.

[You can see a sample timeline provided by the STB here.]

As the Board weighs the evidence to fully understand the risks to passengers, consumers and the broader economy, Rail Passengers encourages the Board to allow for non-party participation in hearings and filings.

A Look at the Data

Majority of U.S. Host Railroad Network Implicated

The proposed UP–NS merger would be the largest in U.S. rail history, with far‑reaching implications for passenger rail service nationwide. A review of the two railroads’ networks reveals the potential impact:

• The UP and NS networks hosted 25 of 44 total Amtrak State-Supported and Long-Distance routes, or 57 percent;
• These 25 Amtrak routes carried more than 11.3 million passengers in 2024, or 63 percent of all Amtrak State-Supported and Long-Distance ridership; and
• Of the 69 routes selected by the Federal Railroad Administration to be part of the Corridor Identification and Development Program, 33 currently travel or would travel over UP or NS trackage – just short of 48 percent.

On Time Performance Questions

UP and NS were both recently subject to federal oversight for extensive delays to Amtrak trains that operated over sections of their networks.

After the merger was proposed:

• UP settled with Amtrak to dismiss a complaint the passenger railroad had brought before the STB regarding the OTP of Amtrak’s Sunset Limited. Amtrak dismissed the complaint in response to UP commitments to improve customer OTP for the Sunset Limited and continuous training and education for employees with responsibilities to Amtrak under federal law.
• NS settled a case with the U.S. Department of Justice in response to a commitment from NS to provide all Amtrak trains highest priority, train its employees to give priority to Amtrak trains, require supervisor approval for any dispatching decision that does not give priority to Amtrak trains in non-emergency situations, and provide records regarding delays on the Crescent.

Below, we’ve compiled Amtrak ridership and OTP data for affected routes.

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About the Rail Passengers Association: with 127,000 members, donors, and supporters, the non-profit Rail Passengers Association is the oldest and largest national organization serving as a voice for the more than 40 million rail passengers in the U.S. Our mission is to improve and expand conventional intercity and regional passenger train services, support higher speed rail initiatives, increase connectivity among all forms of transportation, and ensure safety for our country's trains and passengers. All of this makes communities safer, more accessible, and more productive, improving the lives of everyone who lives, works, and plays in towns all across America.