FROM THE EDITOR, RAILWAY AGE NOVEMBER 2025 ISSUE: At this writing in late October, we are nearly five months out from our annual Next-Generation Freight Rail (“NGFR”) Conference, slated for March 10, 2026, at the Union League Club of Chicago. Start making plans early to come to Chicago, because I don’t think you’re going to want to miss this one.
By the time we convene early that Tuesday morning, the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger application will have been under evaluation with the Surface Transportation Board roughly three months. We’ve already seen a trainload of opinions, commentary and questions, flavored by quite a bit of agita.
“To be more clearly defined are ‘pro-competitive’; ‘downstream effects’; ‘common carrier obligation’; ‘public interest’; and how competitive ‘balance’ is preserved absent a second transcontinental marriage,” Capitol Hill Contributing Editor Frank N. Wilner notes in this issue’s “Watching Washington.” “To assure confidence in the merger review process, there must be clear understanding of regulatory tools available to repair post-merger service failures, preserve major gateways (points allowing traffic interchange with other railroads), and to police rate increases by revenue adequate railroads. Shippers should know how their rate reasonableness challenges will be handled post-merger, and if reciprocal switching can be made an effective pro-competitive remedy, especially absent a third rail competitor.”
And you thought this was going to be simple? Seamless? No such luck!
History is littered with Class I mergers that have caused major delays, congestion, service breakdowns, IT integration problems—what shippers have referred to as “chaos.” Besides better planning—the easy, general and obvious answer—what specific things are in the works to prevent the inevitable hiccups in this transcontinental combo from turning into chronic acid reflux?
As well, thoughtful CEOs will point out that successful mergers are based on two organizational principles: culture and collaboration. How will UP and NS present the merger’s organizational objectives to the people at each company who may be interpreting C-Suite public remarks differently? What concessions are they willing to make (and—let’s be realistic—they will have to make at least some) to obtain STB approval?
These are all fair questions. Who is willing to answer them? We know it’s people like Jim Vena and Mark George (for starters), Keith Creel, Tracy Robinson, Patrick Fuchs and Michelle Schultz. They, among others, are all on the NGFR agenda, engaging in discussions with me, our staff editors, and Contributing Editors Jason Seidl and David Nahass. We’ll take as many questions as we can handle, so be prepared.
NGFR traditionally concludes with Railway Age’s Railroader of the Year, just before the Western Railway Club Dinner. Our 2026 honoree is one of the all-time best, most highly respected operating people in the business: Norfolk Southern Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer John Orr—the obvious choice, in my humble opinion.
