Get the Facts | Guide to What’s New in the Amended Application | April 2026
Download PDFNEW COMMERCIAL AND OPERATIONAL ANALYSIS SHOWS EVEN GREATER PUBLIC BENEFITS
Unprecedented data quality. The updated application’s analysis is the first in rail merger history to use 100% actual traffic data provided by all six North American Class I railroads, rather than the sample data available from the STB – making it the most thorough assessment of market and operational impacts ever.
Faster Service, Lower Costs and Reliable Rail Access. Economic analysis using actual traffic data confirms the combined railroad’s faster, more reliable service will save rail shippers on inventory and equipment costs by removing interchange handoffs that can add 24-48 hours. It also confirms customers will not lose competitive alternatives post-merger.
- The combination will not reduce the number of Class I railroads from 2 to 1, or even from 3 to 2, in any of the 172 U.S. Business Economic Areas.
- Shippers who can choose between two Class I railroads today will keep at least two competitive options post-merger. The merger will not reduce the number of Class I railroads from 2 to 1 in any corridor.
Larger competitive opportunities. The more robust traffic data confirms the merger will make rail significantly more competitive with long-haul trucking, taking approximately 2.1 million trucks off the road. The review confirms the combined company will have sufficient equipment and infrastructure capacity available to support projected growth.
Annual shipper savings of $3.5 billion. Shifting freight from higher-cost trucks to lower-cost rail is projected to save shippers an estimated $3.5 billion annually – savings expected to flow through to consumer prices, making American goods more affordable.
More high-paying union jobs. The additional growth identified in the amended application will create the need for 1,200 net new union jobs by the third year of the merger, up from 900 in the original application.
Even more new routes. The application increases the anticipated number of new premium intermodal lanes operating seven days a week from six to seven, with a new lane connecting Northern California and the Southeast. It also increases the number of new county-to-county lanes to 88,000, up from 84,000 – providing even more shippers access to single-line rail service for the first time.
Greater reliability and efficiency. The combined railroad now estimates eliminating about 2,550 rail car and container handlings and 65,000 car-miles each day, an increase from 2,400 and 60,000 respectively.
Substantial environmental benefits. New analysis using more precise traffic data finds the merger will eliminate nearly 3.8 million metric tons of annual carbon dioxide emissions through reduced fuel use when fully implemented, an increase from 2.7 million metric tons.
AMENDED APPLICATION IS RESPONSIVE TO STB REQUESTS
Projected market shares. The amended application includes more detailed market share projections that account for the growth the combined railroad expects to achieve as shippers shift traffic from trucks and other railroads to its faster, more reliable coast-to-coast service.
Transparency re: merger agreements. The amended application goes further than required by entering additional documents related to the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger agreement into the public record.
Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis (TRRA). The railroads commit to divest or otherwise relinquish control of TRRA as a condition to the merger’s close.