Fortune<\/em> Magazine, President Trump expressed interest and a desire for the U.S. government to acquire an equity interest in the new merger.<\/p>\nBelieve it or not, freight still cannot be shipped across the country on a single railroad today. An industry almost 200 years old is finally proposing such a possibility. Last July, the companies announced an agreement under which Union Pacific would purchase Norfolk Southern for $85 billion, combining the largest Western railroad with one of the two remaining major Eastern railroads. Although the golden spike was hammered into the ground at Promontory Summit, Utah in 1869, this is the first time just one railroad can be called transcontinental. The combined system is estimated to exceed $250 billion in value, based on projected efficiency and reduced transit time, thus attracting freight from trucking competitors. The new system will have about 50,000 route miles across 43 states and connect almost 100 ports in North America.<\/p>\n
However, before the transaction can be consummated, it must be approved by the Surface Transportation Board (STB). The STB is the legal successor to the first federal agency, the Interstate Commerce Commission, which was specifically created in 1887 to regulate railroads. Besides the momentous nature of a so-called \u201cTransCon,\u201d this will be the first time the STB reviews a major railroad merger under new and untested regulations promulgated in 2001.<\/p>\n
Prior to 2001, the STB and former ICC oversaw railroad mergers under the Transportation Acts from 1920 and 1940, respectively. The standard from 1920 to 2001 was whether the merger was consistent with the \u201cpublic interest,\u201d a nebulous term that required the agency to review and balance the impact of the transaction on a number of stakeholders: employees, communities, customers, and other rail competitors. This was the standard applied to the infamous Penn Central merger in the 1960s, which resulted in the largest bankruptcy and business failure at the time in U.S. history, less than two years after the approval.<\/p>\n
The industry is now highly concentrated, and the STB\u2019s regulations for the first time require that the proposed merger actually \u201cenhance\u201d competition. What that means is contested and will need to be determined by the STB. Is it competition with other modes (e.g.<\/em>, trucks, shipping, etc.), or is it rail-to-rail competition that counts?<\/p>\nThe initial UPNS merger was filed on December 19, 2025, and every other major railroad in the country filed comments asserting that the application was procedurally deficient and asked the STB to reject the merger as incomplete. Surprisingly, the STB did so by order dated January 16, 2026. A revised application purporting to respond to the deficiencies was filed on April 30, 2026, and again, major railroads and other parties asserted that it is procedurally inadequate.<\/p>\n
On May 28, the STB \u201caccepted\u201d the revised application as technically compliant procedurally. However, the STB held the proceeding in abeyance until July 27 and ordered the UP and NS to substantially supplement the application to address the many gaps identified by commenters. Thus, the procedural clock has still not begun to tick.<\/p>\n
The fundamental issue for the STB is whether the combined \u201cTransCon\u201d will have undue market power. UPNS have promised to implement the so-called \u201cCommitted Gateway Pricing,\u201d which purports to protect certain shippers and railroads for a specific period of time by equalizing rates where existing alternative routings might still exist. To date, there has been little enthusiasm for the transaction, and the STB continues to take its job as regulator of record seriously. The unknown is whether the increasingly political landscape surrounding major business transactions will play a decisive role.<\/p>\n
Bio: <\/em>Jonathan M. Broder (LAW \u201983) is a retired Vice President of Corporate Development and General Counsel for Conrail. He managed Conrail\u2019s legal and corporate affairs, as well as its real estate and business development departments. Jon is currently a Temple 10-Q Editor and an Adjunct Professor at the Temple University Beasley School of Law.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
June 17, 2026 In a sign of the times, Union Pacific Railroad Chairman Jim Vena visited President Trump in the Oval Office to receive a blessing after announcing Union Pacific\u2019s historic agreement with Norfolk Southern Railway to combine and create the nation\u2019s first transcontinental railroad. The visit was followed by Union Pacific donating several million<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":4602,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,13,8,61,38],"tags":[],"coauthors":[63],"class_list":["post-4601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antitrust","category-business-law-practice","category-faculty-authored","category-legal-developments","category-regulated-industries","masonry-post","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"yoast_head":"\n
- The Temple 10-Q<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"- The Temple 10-Q\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"June 17, 2026 In a sign of the times, Union Pacific Railroad Chairman Jim Vena visited President Trump in the Oval Office to receive a blessing after announcing Union Pacific\u2019s historic agreement with Norfolk Southern Railway to combine and create the nation\u2019s first transcontinental railroad. The visit was followed by Union Pacific donating several million\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Temple 10-Q\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-17T15:42:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/06\/Broder_1-black-and-white-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jonathan Broder (LAW '83)\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jonathan Broder (LAW '83)\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tameka A. Barnes\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/#\/schema\/person\/5ae2f2fed1b6b7532f3c2f17ba95d5c4\"},\"headline\":\"No title\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T15:42:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/\"},\"wordCount\":714,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/06\/Broder_1-black-and-white-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Antitrust\",\"Business Law Practice\",\"Faculty Authored\",\"Legal Developments\",\"Regulated Industries\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/\",\"name\":\"- The Temple 10-Q\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/06\/Broder_1-black-and-white-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T15:42:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/#\/schema\/person\/5ae2f2fed1b6b7532f3c2f17ba95d5c4\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/06\/Broder_1-black-and-white-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/06\/Broder_1-black-and-white-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":2560},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/\",\"name\":\"The Temple 10-Q\",\"description\":\"Temple's Business Law Magazine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/#\/schema\/person\/5ae2f2fed1b6b7532f3c2f17ba95d5c4\",\"name\":\"Tameka A. Barnes\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b79c941bd5f8089182ae00944908153958ca9043bbbee7ec112ef42e8b5a95e9?s=96&d=mm&r=g525014dce3c80ead75f331a22e3ab869\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b79c941bd5f8089182ae00944908153958ca9043bbbee7ec112ef42e8b5a95e9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b79c941bd5f8089182ae00944908153958ca9043bbbee7ec112ef42e8b5a95e9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Tameka A. Barnes\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/author\/tur80994\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"- The Temple 10-Q","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"- The Temple 10-Q","og_description":"June 17, 2026 In a sign of the times, Union Pacific Railroad Chairman Jim Vena visited President Trump in the Oval Office to receive a blessing after announcing Union Pacific\u2019s historic agreement with Norfolk Southern Railway to combine and create the nation\u2019s first transcontinental railroad. The visit was followed by Union Pacific donating several million","og_url":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/","og_site_name":"The Temple 10-Q","article_published_time":"2026-06-17T15:42:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":2560,"url":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/06\/Broder_1-black-and-white-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jonathan Broder (LAW '83)","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jonathan Broder (LAW '83)","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/"},"author":{"name":"Tameka A. Barnes","@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/#\/schema\/person\/5ae2f2fed1b6b7532f3c2f17ba95d5c4"},"headline":"No title","datePublished":"2026-06-17T15:42:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/"},"wordCount":714,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/06\/Broder_1-black-and-white-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Antitrust","Business Law Practice","Faculty Authored","Legal Developments","Regulated Industries"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/","url":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/","name":"- The Temple 10-Q","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/06\/Broder_1-black-and-white-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-17T15:42:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/#\/schema\/person\/5ae2f2fed1b6b7532f3c2f17ba95d5c4"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/4601-2\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/06\/Broder_1-black-and-white-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/06\/Broder_1-black-and-white-scaled.jpg","width":1920,"height":2560},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/#website","url":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/","name":"The Temple 10-Q","description":"Temple's Business Law Magazine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/#\/schema\/person\/5ae2f2fed1b6b7532f3c2f17ba95d5c4","name":"Tameka A. Barnes","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b79c941bd5f8089182ae00944908153958ca9043bbbee7ec112ef42e8b5a95e9?s=96&d=mm&r=g525014dce3c80ead75f331a22e3ab869","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b79c941bd5f8089182ae00944908153958ca9043bbbee7ec112ef42e8b5a95e9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b79c941bd5f8089182ae00944908153958ca9043bbbee7ec112ef42e8b5a95e9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Tameka A. Barnes"},"url":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/author\/tur80994\/"}]}},"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/06\/Broder_1-black-and-white-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4601"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4601\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4603,"href":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4601\/revisions\/4603"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4601"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/10q\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=4601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}