STB Rejects Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern Merger

STB decisions have profound effects on the field of railroad mergers, and the rejection of the application between Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS) changed the pulse of the industry. This is a clear warning about whether the application complies with the technical requirements. The fact that the dossier submitted on December 19 was found to be incomplete and that the impact analyzes under 49 CFR § 1180.7(b) were deemed inadequate stood out as a prominent focus in the STB’s decision. In this article, we discuss in detail the background of the decision, the effects on side transactions and terminal connections, critical timetables and sectoral reactions. The limited technical adequacy of the current file does not constitute a prejudice for future applications; This is recorded only as an evaluation of the content of the current file.