Kevin Cole, Julie Anderson and Henry J. Cordes – Omaha World-Herald – July 29, 2025 – LJS

Union Pacific has signed an agreement to buy Norfolk Southern and become America’s first transcontinental railroad, according to U.P. CEO Jim Vena.

Vena, who posted the announcement on the railroad’s website, said the deal would be “creating a coast-to-coast network that will span more than 50,000 miles, serve 43 states from the East Coast to the West Coast, link approximately 100 ports and reach nearly every corner of North America.”

The Associated Press reported that Omaha-based Union Pacific is proposing an $85 billion deal with an offering of $20 billion in cash and stock.

“Norfolk Southern shareholders would receive one UP share and $88.82 in cash for each one of their shares as part of the deal that values NS at roughly $320 per share,” according to The Associated Press. “Norfolk Southern closed at just over $260 a share earlier this month before the first reports speculating about a deal.”

Union Pacific’s stock rose slightly to $229.35 in premarket trading, while Norfolk Southern’s stock dipped more than 2% to $279.95.

The deal would fundamentally change how freight moves, Vena said.

“A single coast-to-coast network will deliver faster, more competitive service by eliminating car touches and interchange delays, opening new routes, expanding intermodal services, and ensuring faster transit times on key rail corridors,” Vena said. “We will take even more trucks off highways, decreasing congestion, and reducing wear-and-tear on taxpayer-funded roads.

“Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are two of the strongest-operating railroads, with a combined 360 years of history. The Norfolk Southern team is known as the Thoroughbreds with a history that dates to 1827 — 35 years older than Union Pacific,” Vena said. “Their team has been on a solid trajectory of delivering strong results.”

Vena went on to say that he wanted Norfolk Southern employees to understand that he has been “a railroader” his entire life. He noted that he worked his way up to CEO after starting as a union brakeman.

“In the coming months, we will submit a formal merger application to the Surface Transportation Board,” he said. “While the STB reviews our application, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern will continue to operate as separate companies.”

Omaha headquarters

Heath Mello, president and CEO of the Greater Omaha Chamber, congratulated both railroads on the historic announcement.

“This partnership will strengthen domestic supply chains, open new markets and reinforce our nation’s global competitiveness,” he said in a statement.

Mello said the chamber is especially proud that U.P., one of the most iconic names in American history, continues to call Omaha home.

“Their leadership in reshaping the future of freight transportation reinforces our region’s central role in building a more connected and prosperous nation,” he said in the statement.

Omaha Mayor John Ewing also noted that Omaha and Union Pacific have a long, proud shared history.

“U.P.’s decision to remain headquartered in Omaha and keep its name gives us confidence in a long, proud shared future,” he said in a statement.

He added that the city would welcome any future employees from the combined railroads to settle in Omaha.

For many, Union Pacific is a name that is already synonymous for transcontinental rail service.

The iconic railroad was incorporated in 1862 with a mission from President Abraham Lincoln and Congress to help build the nation’s first transcontinental railroad, starting west from the Missouri River.

Union Pacific established shops in Omaha near today’s downtown riverfront in 1863 and began laying track in 1865. Four years later, it met up in Utah with the Central Pacific, which had laid track east out of San Francisco.

While the railroad’s operational headquarters has always been based in Omaha, the much smaller corporate headquarters has been based elsewhere, first for decades in New York City, then Bethlehem, Pa., and then Dallas.

Its corporate headquarters returned to Omaha in 1999 as the railroad was preparing to build its new headquarters building at 14th and Douglas, which opened in 2004.

The company had conducted a national search around that time before deciding to put the headquarters where its operations were based.

The railroad also has a large dispatching center downtown, just east of the Old Market. The Harriman Dispatch Center is responsible for train movements across the railroad’s 23-state network — a network that could now one day enlarge.

Union Pacific ranks 170th on Fortune 500 list of the nation’s largest companies. It’s also one of four Fortune 500’s based in Omaha, along with Berkshire Hathaway (No. 6), Kiewit (No. 239) and Mutual of Omaha (No. 306).

Per capita, the Omaha metro boasts more such headquarters than New York City or Chicago, the metro areas that are home to the most such companies.

If approved, the resulting railroad would be known as the Union Pacific Transcontinental Railroad.

The combined company, according to a joint statement, would “deliver faster, more comprehensive freight service to U.S. shippers by eliminating delays, opening new routes, expanding intermodal services and reducing distance and transit time on key rail corridors.”

Norfolk Southern runs rails in 22 eastern states and the District of Columbia.