A Transcontinental Railroad and the Case for Scale in American Infrastructure

A single freight railroad spanning coast to coast could take an estimated 2.1 million truckloads off American highways every year. That is the central promise of the proposed combination of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, and on May 28, 2026, federal regulators took the first formal step toward considering it, accepting the companies' amended merger application for review.

The proposal would create the first single-line transcontinental railroad in American history: one network, one operator, moving freight from the Atlantic to the Pacific without the costly handoffs between carriers that slow the system today. It is the clearest current example of why scale in American freight rail infrastructure is a public good, not a problem to be managed.

A Coast-to-Coast Network Built on Existing American Steel

The combined railroad would connect more than 50,000 route miles, serving 43 states and roughly 100 ports across the continental United States. Union Pacific operates across 23 western states; Norfolk Southern runs a 22-state network in the East. Neither reaches coast to coast alone. Joined, they would eliminate the interchange points where freight is handed from one railroad to another — the delays, the double-handling, the lost time that shippers absorb and consumers ultimately pay for.

The $85 billion transaction was announced in July 2025. Its scale is matched by the rigor regulators are applying: the companies' application is the first in rail merger history to use 100% actual traffic data supplied by all six North American Class I railroads, making it the most thorough assessment of market and operational impact the industry has produced.

Freight Rail Already Anchors the American Economy

Freight rail is one of the country's quiet economic engines. The U.S. rail transportation sector generated $233.4 billion in total economic output in 2023 and supported nearly 749,000 jobs nationwide, according to the Association of American Railroads. Every dollar spent on rail transportation produces about $2.50 in broader economic activity, and every rail job supports an estimated 3.9 additional jobs across manufacturing, logistics, and technology.

These are high-wage jobs. The average Class I freight rail employee earned roughly $149,000 in total compensation in 2023 — well above the national average. And unlike highway freight, railroads build and maintain their own networks: Class I railroads reinvested $26.8 billion in their infrastructure in 2023, modernizing track and equipment without drawing on taxpayer funds.

Why does freight rail infrastructure matter to the broader economy?

Freight rail moves the bulk goods that other industries depend on — grain, chemicals, automobiles, construction materials, and the intermodal containers that carry consumer products. Because railroads own and fund their own networks, they reduce pressure on taxpayer-funded highways while connecting American producers to domestic and global markets. The efficiency of the rail network is a direct input into the price of nearly everything that moves through the economy.

Scale Is What Makes the Efficiency Possible

A transcontinental network produces benefits that two separate railroads cannot. The companies project that seamless single-line service would save shippers and the broader supply chain billions of dollars annually through faster transit times, reduced congestion, and the elimination of double-handling costs. Giving shippers a stronger single-line alternative to long-haul trucking puts downward pressure on freight prices across the board — rail and road alike.

The environmental math reinforces the economic case. Rail moves one ton of freight nearly 500 miles on a single gallon of fuel, making it three to four times more fuel-efficient than trucking and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 75% per ton-mile. Removing millions of truckloads from interstate highways eases congestion, reduces road wear, and lowers the public cost of maintaining highway infrastructure.

This is the affirmative case for scale. A coast-to-coast railroad is only possible at size; the integration of two continental networks into one is precisely the kind of investment that smaller, fragmented operators cannot undertake.

A Rigorous Review Is the Right Standard

The path forward runs through the Surface Transportation Board, the independent regulator with final authority over railroad consolidations. The Board accepted the amended application in a unanimous decision and has requested supplemental information, due July 27, 2026, before the merits review proceeds. The review operates under merger rules updated in 2024 that place the burden on the applicants to demonstrate both competitive benefits and the absence of harm to shippers, communities, and the broader economy. The Department of Justice has publicly opposed the combination.

A demanding, evidence-based review is exactly how a decision of this magnitude should be made. The companies have responded by building the most data-complete merger application in the industry's history and by drawing support from more than 2,000 stakeholders — including customers, labor organizations, short line railroads, ports, and business groups. When the case for scale is this strong, rigorous scrutiny is an opportunity to prove it, not a threat to avoid.

The question before regulators is whether one integrated network can move American freight more efficiently than two. The evidence assembled so far makes a serious case that it can, and that the country's freight infrastructure, its supply chains, and the businesses and households that depend on them stand to benefit.