The $85 billion merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern would be a derailment waiting to happen for America’s energy future.
For two centuries, railroads have helped keep the lights on, the factories running, and the American energy engine roaring. They move our coal, oil, natural gas, and the components that allow America to continue being an energy leader. Without competitive and responsive freight rail service, the trains don’t just stop: America does.
That’s why the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger is such a bad deal. If approved, one company would control nearly half of all U.S. rail traffic. Let that sink in: half. From the oil fields of the Permian Basin to the coal mines of Appalachia, producers would be left with fewer options and higher costs. Those costs don’t stay in the boardroom; they roll downhill to every American family already struggling with energy bills.
The Surface Transportation Board has one job here: Ensure mergers serve the public interest and enhance competition. This one fails both tests.
We’ve seen this movie before. The last time Union Pacific pulled off a massive merger, in the 1990s with Southern Pacific, the result was a logistical nightmare. Gridlock, backlogs, and service meltdowns rippled across the economy. Farmers couldn’t move grain, power plants ran short on coal, and consumers paid the price. Now we’re being told, “Trust us, this time will be different.” It won’t be.
Supporters claim “efficiency.” But anyone who’s ever worked in a real business knows efficiency doesn’t come from monopolies but from competition. When a few giants control the tracks, innovation stalls, service suffers and prices climb. To keep America’s energy rolling, we need more competition with the freight rail industry – not less. It’s the best way to keep rail rates fair and deliveries dependable.
This merger would cut off competition and tie America’s energy producers to a single rail behemoth stretching from coast to coast. Fewer routes. Less flexibility. More bottlenecks. That’s not recipe for success.
Energy dominance isn’t a slogan. It means ensuring our resources can move reliably, affordably, and securely across this nation.
The potential harm this merger poses to America’s energy future should be raising red flags in the White House, Congress, and statehouses nationwide. We cannot allow more consolidation in the rail industry to put our nation’s energy security at risk.
The Surface Transportation Board should hit the brakes. Reject this merger so we can keep America’s energy advantage moving in the right direction. And not allow a rail monopoly to send the country down the wrong track.
Daniel Turner is Executive Director of Power The Future.