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UP-NS Merger Filings See Competitive Remedies

[ September 18, 2026   //   ]

The regulatory battle over the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger is beginning to move beyond broad arguments over consolidation as railroads, shippers and other parties outline specific competitive concerns and potential remedies they may ask the Surface Transportation Board to impose.

One of the most significant proposals would create an independent terminal railroad controlling key portions of the New Orleans rail gateway if the UP-NS transaction is approved.

County Line Railroad Interests has told the STB it intends to seek approval to establish the New Orleans Terminal Railroad, which would acquire about 7.7 miles of Norfolk Southern’s New Orleans Terminal Back Belt Line and assume dispatching authority over about 13.6 route miles through the gateway, including the Huey P. Long Bridge crossing.

The proposal targets an unusual competitive issue created by the merger. Norfolk Southern currently dispatches the Back Belt, while Union Pacific dispatches the Huey P. Long Bridge crossing. Combining the two railroads would therefore place control of both critical routes through the New Orleans terminal area under the merged carrier.

New Orleans is the only deepwater U.S. port gateway served by all six Class I railroads, along with Amtrak. County Line argues that an independent terminal operator would preserve neutral access by using common tariffs and dispatching rules, with no Class I railroad holding an ownership interest.

Other filings in the UP-NS proceeding are beginning to identify additional competitive issues and potential conditions.

POET, a major U.S. biofuels producer, has filed in support of the combination, arguing that single-line UP-NS service could improve access to eastern markets for ethanol and distillers grains now moving over multiple railroads.

Meanwhile, competing Class I railroads including BNSF, CPKC and CSX are pressing discovery issues as they develop their responses to the transaction, while other parties are examining gateway access and potential responsive applications.

The filings represent an early stage of what is likely to become the substantive competitive phase of the STB proceeding. Comments, protests, requests for conditions and responsive applications are due Nov. 18. The board has said it will hold a public hearing later in the proceeding.

Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern have said the proposed transcontinental combination would preserve existing gateways and create new single-line service opportunities. The emerging filings indicate the STB record increasingly will focus on whether those commitments are sufficient or whether additional conditions or structural remedies are necessary.

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