On Jan. 8, shortly following release of several customer letters and Surface Transportation Board filings from BNSF, CSX, CN and CPKC on the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger (which Railway Age has published in our continuing coverage of this potentially industry-altering transaction), UP CEO Jim Vena posted a letter on the railroad’s “Great Connection” website. This letter, a UP spokesperson told us, is to “stakeholders, inclusive of customers, suppliers, communities, employees and shareholders,” and is partially in response to what UP is calling a “smear campaign.”
Vena’s entire letter can be downloaded below. Following are excerpts:
“2025 was spectacular for our Union Pacific team – we are very proud of what we accomplished and how we delivered our Safety, Service and Operational Excellence strategy.”
“Our nearly 7,000-page application comprehensively details how the end-to-end combination will enhance competition and deliver broad public benefits. Connecting the United States from coast to coast will transform 10,000 existing lanes from interline service into faster, more efficient single-line service – eliminating time-consuming handoffs between railroads. Our transcontinental railroad will move freight more efficiently, eliminating an estimated 2,400 railcar and container handlings and 60,000 car-miles each day. We also will compete more effectively with long-haul trucking, converting an estimated 2 million truckloads of freight from road to rail annually.”
“We … knew opponents would come forward, and we understand why. Our opponents see an enhanced competitor that will be faster, delivering service with fewer touch points and less complications for customers. They see us coming and know that to compete they will need to either improve their service, price or both – and that is at the heart of all their concerns … Let me be clear, our competitors want to be the best, too. If they thought we were doing something that would make Union Pacific weak, they would remain silent.”
“When I joined Union Pacific in 2019, I was unfamiliar with the complexity of its network. I used 40 years of railroading experience – as a locomotive engineer, conductor, yardmaster, clerk, sales manager, market manager, and key superintendent at flat yards, hump yards, and major port locations – to lead a team that improved Union Pacific’s efficiency, delivered better service and fostered growth. The Norfolk Southern integration will be handled the same way.”
“We will celebrate our nation’s 250th anniversary by bringing out Big Boy No. 4014 to make history on its first-ever coast-to-coast tour. I look forward to announcing the tour schedule soon, so Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern employees can bring their families to key stops on the route as a celebration of where we came from and where we are headed.”
Further Reading:
- CN on UP+NS: ‘Show Us Schedule 5.8′
- BNSF, CN, CPKC, CSX, NGFA: UP+NS Merger Application ‘Incomplete’
- Former Rail Executive: UP-NS Deal Likely to Get Done & Other Views
- Merging Lines – First Take on UP-NS Application
- How Railroads Can Deliver What Congress Promised: Better Infrastructure
- CPKC: UP+NS Merger ‘Not in the Public Interest’
- UP, NS Deliver 6,700-Page ‘Christmas Present’
- UP, NS Shareholders Greenlight Merger
- UP 3Q25: ‘Continued Improvements in Pursuit of What’s Possible’
- For NS 3Q25, ‘Strong Results’
- ASLRRA to Participate in STB Review of Proposed UP-NS Merger
- Is a UP-NS ‘Fix’ In? Don’t Bet on It!
- Why a Unified Rail Network Makes Sense
- A Rail Merger to Put America Back on Track
- UP’s Jalali: No Hiccups With NS IT Integration
- 64 Industry Organizations to the STB: ‘Proceed With Great Care’
- Ag-State Senators to STB: Be ‘Rigorous’ and ‘Comprehensive’
- BNSF vs. UP, Take Three
- Eliminating Paper Barriers is the Pro-Competitive Move
- Hoeven, Klobuchar to STB: ‘Closely Scrutinize’ UP+NS
