OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern will file their merger application with federal regulators on Friday, the railroads said today.
The document, which will be filed with the Surface Transportation Board, will allow the railroads to show how their combination will deliver economic benefits, enhance competition, and protect union jobs, the railroads said.
It is the first major merger that will be judged under the tougher review rules the STB adopted in 2001 after rapid consolidation in the 1990s left the U.S. with a pair of Class I railroad duoplies, with BNSF Railway and Union Pacific serving the West and CSX and Norfolk Southern blanketing the East…