Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are in merger talks to create the largest railroad in North America that would connect the East and West Coasts.
The merger discussions began during the first quarter of 2025, according to someone familiar with the talks but not authorized to publicly discuss them. It would combine the largest and smallest of the country’s six major freight railroads. Both railroads declined to comment.
Within the industry, the AP says there is a lot of debate over the merger and whether it would be approved by the Surface Transportation Board. The questions come despite regulators approving the deal that created CPKC railroad two years ago with the Canadian Pacific’s $31 billion acquisition of Kansas City Southern Railroad. That merger combined the two smallest major railroads in North America and left only six major freight railroads. But at the time, it was the first approved merger in 20 years.
