(Union Pacific Photograph)
Commentary

TD Cowen: 20th Anniversary Quarterly Rail Survey Says …

Pricing continues to decelerate in the third quarter, running well below the survey’s average. Business growth expectations worsen, akin to COVID lows. Economic confidence skews negative. Shippers would move LSD volume onto rails if transcon service offered. Rail earnings likely driven by M&A discussion despite incrementally weakening business conditions.

Commentary

TD Cowen Insight: Merger to Dominate Rail Earnings Despite Diverging Q3 Operations

We lower Q3 EPS estimates below current consensus for both Eastern carriers, while modestly raising estimates for UNP, driven by outperformance in IM and coal. Broader freight demand remains challenged though M&A likely to continue to be center stage for most investor focus.

Commentary

The ‘End Game’ UP-NS Merger

On July 30, 2025, at the Surface Transportation Board, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern filed a notice of intent to file an Application for authority to merge. The earliest the Application may

Jim Vena (UP Photograph)
Commentary

STB Drama Follows UP-POTUS Chat

WATCHING WASHINGTON, RAILWAY AGE, OCTOBER 2025 ISSUE: The proposed marriage of Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS) to form the first U.S. seamless Atlantic to Pacific transcontinental railroad is a mesmerizing drama intensified by two forceful personalities. 

Class I Briefs: UP, BNSF

Union Pacific (UP) racks up strong performance numbers for its grain customers. Also, BNSF encourages stakeholders to share their views with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) regarding the proposed merger between Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS).

(Logo Courtesy of STB)

STB: Feedback Welcome on Review Schedule for Proposed UP+NS Merger

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) is inviting public comment on its schedule for reviewing the proposed merger of Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS), which would create the first U.S. transcontinental

BNSF’s first new-crop soybean train of the harvest season departed recently from Argyle, Minn., transporting soybeans for customer Markit Country Grain. Leading the journey were locomotive engineer Todd Pesch and conductor Jesse Adams, with support from BNSF team members, including Division Trainmaster Josh Tyree and Terminal Manager Jarod Senger. (Courtesy of BNSF)

Class I Briefs: BNSF, NS

BNSF provides an update on operational performance and capital expansion projects in Texas, Arizona, and California. Also, Norfolk Southern (NS) reflects on Hurricane Helene recovery efforts—one year later.

(Screenshot from NS Video)
Commentary

Watch: NS Generations on the Rails

At Norfolk Southern (NS), railroading runs deep. It often spans generations of the same family. Across our network, you’ll find parents, children, grandchildren, and more who have all proudly called themselves railroaders,

NS Introduces Triple Crown Services, Inc.

Norfolk Southern (NS) recently announced that it has created Triple Crown Services, Inc. (TCSI), a single-source solution for motor carrier and brokerage services that “puts customers first.”

(Photograph Courtesy of UP)

SMART-TD Supports Proposed UP-NS Merger

Union Pacific and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers–Transportation Division on Sept. 22 announced an agreement they said “guarantees that SMART-TD members working in train and yardmaster

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