ICYMI: Former STB Chief Economist Declares Benefits of UP-NS Merger
Former STB Chief Economist William Brennan says in a new op-ed that the UP-NS merger would slash handoffs, speed up service, and make rail a stronger rival to trucks.
Brennan calls it a deal that “deserves serious consideration, not dismissal.”
In case you missed it…
Hunter Harrison’s Real Lesson for the UP-NS Merger
Railway Age
William Brennan
10/19/26
... The point is that the transaction could remove an old structural seam in the U.S. rail map and create a single-line transcontinental system linking the Pacific, Atlantic, and Gulf gateways across a unified operating platform. Canadian railroads already enjoy versions of this advantage: seamless networks connecting multiple coasts, border crossings, inland markets and ports under unified management. The U.S. has never had a true coast-to-coast freight railroad.
... Interchange is not costless. Handoffs create delay, uncertainty, divided accountability and commercial friction. They make it harder to price, schedule, invest and recover from disruptions.
... A western railroad can optimize the West. An eastern railroad can optimize the East. What neither can fully optimize is the national network, something needed more than ever as the United States seeks to reshore its supply chains and manufacturing capabilities.
... Competition is not enhanced only when a rival carrier receives trackage rights over someone else’s line. Competition is also enhanced when rail becomes a more effective competitor against trucks, when shippers receive faster and more reliable single-line service, when new lanes become commercially practical, and when the national rail network becomes better able to serve the U.S. economy.
... The applicants have expanded Committed Gateway Pricing (CGP), proposed a Targeted Access Program for service failures in terminal areas, committed to preserve pre-merger Class I access for 2-to-1 and 3-to-2 facilities, and offered a rate dispute mechanism if anticipated public benefits do not materialize in a timely way.
... the UP-NS merger deserves serious consideration, not dismissal.
