OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern say their yard and terminal capacity expansion plans will help ensure that the combined railroad can handle an anticipated traffic surge within three years of their merger.
The transcontinental combination, if approved, will lead to 11% volume growth compared to 2023, the railroads say in their merger application.
“By offering the single-line rail service customers prefer, a merged UP-NS would attract an estimated 1.86 million rail carloads and intermodal units annually,” according to Oliver Wyman’s traffic analysis in the merger application. Of that total, “442,000 diversions are from other railroads, 67,000 are extensions of UP intermodal moves that dray over 250 miles, and 1.36 million are from traffic currently moving by truck.”…