Prototype News

Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern announced Thursday that they are in talks to merge into a single transcontinental railroad. The announcement came just a week after rumors began to swirl about the possibility of a new round of Class I mergers between the two western roads and the two eastern roads. 

“Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern stated that they do not intend to make additional comments or provide an update on this matter unless and until they determine that disclosure is required or otherwise appropriate,” the railroads stated in a press release. 

Earlier this week, reports surfaced that BNSF was considering a merger with CSX. However, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett later dismissed that rumor. However, observers say that if UP and NS pair up, BNSF and CSX would likely follow. 

The news that UP and NS are considering to start what could be the final round of railroad mergers comes just two years after Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern completed what many believed would be the “final” merger. That merger between North America’s smallest Class I railroads was not governed by a stricter set of merger rules drafted in 2001 after the merger mania of the 1990s. However, any future consolidations would need to meet that higher standard to ensure they serve the public interest. At the time of the CP-KCS merger, the U.S. Surface Transportation Board seemed cautious about any further consolidation, especially with Chairman Martin J. Oberman leading. But some believe that Patrick Fuchs, the 37-year-old appointed to the board in 2019 by President Donald Trump who now serves as its chair, might be more open to the idea of additional mergers. 

—Justin Franz 

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The State of Oregon has allocated $100 million to develop a new intermodal port at Coos Bay, Ore., a project that could significantly boost traffic on the scenic short line between there and Eugene. 

The $100 million will help dredge a shipping channel into the Port of Coos Bay to permit larger ships to unload containers there. Once unloaded, the containers will be transferred onto rail cars and transported to the Union Pacific interchange at Eugene via the Coos Bay Rail Line. The Coos Bay Rail Line is 134 miles long and was once part of the Southern Pacific’s vast branchline network in western Oregon. 

“This project is an investment in rural Oregon,” said Melissa Cribbins, executive director of the Pacific Coast Intermodal Port. “Rural Oregon has felt left behind for a very long time when it comes to opportunities, and we have to reinvest not only in infrastructure but in employment opportunities.”

While sizeable, the grant from the state is still only a fraction of the projected cost of the $2.3 billion project. 

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