Merger mania hits the railroads: Western UP and BNSF now angling for new Eastern marriage partners
July 22, 2025 - TRA Commentary -
Except for some consolidation in the short line railroad arena and Canadian Pacific Railway-Kansas City Southern morphing into CPKC in April 2023, merger talks between Class 1's had been deathly silent.
Until recently, that is.
Last week, news sources reported that Omaha's Union Pacific Railroad had been in merger talks with East-Coast based Norfolk Southern since the first quarter of 2025.
No sooner had the media started to churn that story then Barron’s reported on July 18 that Fort Worth-based BNSF Railway, part of the Berkshire-Warren Buffet empire, might engage with Jacksonville Florida CSX as a counter move.
Any consolidation of this size, if it should happen, would create the first transcontinental railroad in U.S. history. Of course, it would be subject to approval from the Surface Transportation Board and, no doubt, a fistful of legal challenges.
According to a story in Barron's “Such a deal might be an elephant-sized transaction that Berkshire CEO Warren Buffett has sought for more than a decade that could absorb a chunk of Berkshire’s more than $300 billion in cash."
Potential railroad consolidation has the eyes and ears of rail shippers.
Soy Transportation Coalition Executive Director Mike Steenhoek told Brownfieldagnews.com that Union Pacific possibly acquiring Norfolk Southern Railroad would be a seismic event if it happens since none of the U.S. based railroads have coast-to-coast service. He told Brownfield if this transaction moves forward, it might encourage more consolidation. “It would provide significant momentum behind a merger or acquisition with the remaining two railroads, BNSF Railway and CSX, resulting in essentially two U.S. based railroads that both have service from coast to coast.”
Pros and cons of railroad mega-mergers include making it easier to move shipments coast-to-coast with fewer handoff delays, but it could also come at rate increases or a decrease in service.
Additional background:
https://www.agweb.com/news/business/could-railroad-merger-be-building-steam
https://www.brownfieldagnews.com/news/ag-group-watching-potential-rail-merger-closely/
Photo credit: RailsEast Productions