More than 150 years after President Lincoln’s vision of a truly connected nation, America’s railroads still carry the weight of our economy. But while the world has moved faster, our rail infrastructure has not. It’s time to modernize, not with more bureaucracy or spending, but through private investment that unleashes American ingenuity.
The proposed Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS) merger will do just that. It will create America’s first true transcontinental rail network, connecting more than 50,000 route miles across 43 states, linking roughly 100 ports and uniting nearly every corner of North America. This is not just a merger of companies; it’s a merger of opportunity and ambition — the kind that once defined American progress.
Modernization is no longer optional; it’s essential to America’s economic future. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) warns that if the nation fails to address its growing infrastructure investment gap, the result could be more than $10.3 trillion in lost GDP and nearly 3 million fewer jobs by 2039.
For American households, that means about $3,300 less in disposable income each year. Without modernization, the cost of inaction will continue to climb, slowing growth, raising prices, and undermining the very strength that drives our economy.
What makes this effort remarkable is that this progress doesn’t come at the expense of taxpayers. Instead, it reflects the strength of American enterprise and the willingness to invest, build, and move the nation forward through private investment. Businesses and families across the country stand to benefit by ensuring that opportunity expands and that America’s economy remains strong and self-reliant.
Freight rail is central to that strength. It connects the innovators who design, the producers who build, and the businesses that deliver. Moving nearly 40 percent of the nation’s long-distance freight, this network fuels the exchange of goods and ideas that keeps America a global leader.
In 2023, the industry generated over $230 billion in economic output and supported roughly 750,000 jobs, driving growth in every sector from agriculture to advanced manufacturing. Our capacity to move, innovate, produce, and deliver has long been the foundation of our nation’s strength, and a modern rail system offered by the UP-NS merger will help preserve that legacy.
By streamlining the rail network, the merger would reduce costly delays that occur when freight shifts between carriers at interchange points. These transfers can add days to shipping times, driving up costs for producers and consumers while creating inefficiencies across the supply chain. Increased dwell times lead to missed delivery windows and disrupted inventory management that ripple through every sector of the economy.
Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern currently exchange about 1 million shipments each year and are each other’s largest interchange partners, creating a logistical choke point that affects businesses nationwide. Combining their networks would alleviate these bottlenecks, reduce dwell times, and allow freight to move more efficiently from origin to destination, strengthening the flow of commerce across the country.
When freight moves freely, the entire nation benefits. Grocery store shelves stay stocked, manufacturers can keep production on schedule, and products reach markets without costly delays. Lower transportation costs ripple through the entire economy, reducing the price of everyday goods, stabilizing supply chains, and strengthening the financial security of American families.
What begins with fewer bottlenecks on the rails ends with more reliability and affordability for the workers, consumers, and businesses who drive America forward. Everyone wins when efficiency, competition, and innovation work together to strengthen the nation as a whole.
This merger is about more than railroads; it’s about revitalizing American industry and restoring the nation’s capacity to build, produce, and grow. A modern, efficient freight network will help reshore jobs, strengthen supply chains, and power the manufacturing revival already underway.
From steel and energy to technology and agriculture, American goods should be made here, moved here, and sold here. A stronger rail system helps turn that ideal into reality, ensuring that America’s growth is built on its own strength and hard work.
This merger is a chance to restore American greatness and secure a future where our factories stay open, our supply chains run strong, and our prosperity is built by American hands.
George Landrith is the President of the Frontiers of Freedom Institute, and the author of “Let Freedom Ring… Again: Can Self-Evident Truths Save America from Further Decline?”