Two of the largest U.S. railroads, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, are planning to merge.
The companies made the announcement Tuesday morning.
The $85 billion deal would create America’s first transcontinental freight railroad.
According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. freight railroads carry about 30% of the nation’s freight in terms of weight.
The trains transport cars, retail goods, food, energy products, and more.
Together, the railroads will seamlessly connect over 50,000 route miles across 43 states, linking approximately 100 ports.
Union Pacific serves many of the 75 ports across Washington, most notably Seattle, Tacoma and Kalama.
“Railroads have been an integral part of building America since the Industrial Revolution, and this transaction is the next step in advancing the industry,” said Jim Vena, Union Pacific Chief Executive Officer. “Imagine seamlessly hauling steel from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Colton, California and moving tomato paste from Heron, California to Fremont, Ohio. Lumber from the Pacific Northwest, plastics from the Gulf Coast, copper from Arizona and Utah, and soda ash from Wyoming. Right now, tens of thousands of railroaders are moving almost everything we use. You name it, and at some point, the railroad hauled it.”
The deal still needs the approval of antitrust regulators as well as groups like the Surface Transportation Board.
The companies are targeting closing the transaction by early 2027.