Canadian Pacific Kansas City President and Chief Executive Officer Keith Creel has issued a statement reiterating strong objections to the merger application refiled by Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS) with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) on April 30, 2026:
“Having taken nearly four months to refile their application, longer than it took for them to prepare the initial filing, UP and NS’ new application doesn’t change the underlying reality that this mega-merger is unnecessary and falls well short of meeting the high benchmark set out in the STB’s updated 2001 major merger rules,” Mr. Kreel said.
“A combined UP-NS could place nearly 50 percent of U.S. freight rail traffic in the hands of a single company that already has a troubled history, some very recent, of abusing market power to the detriment of American businesses and workers. None of this serves the public interest. None of this serves the interests of shippers. All of it puts our supply chains and economy at needless risk.”
Mr. Kreel continued: “On Friday, May 8, 2026, CPKC filed comments addressing the completeness of the revised application. In those comments, we address why it does not appear that UP and NS have met the specific STB requirements to submit a detailed market impact analysis based on their projected future shares of rail traffic flows for key commodities and corridors. This has left us asking, did UP overlook this specific instruction from the STB? If not, does UP have something to hide? One thing is certain: This is emblematic of UP continuing to have its own interpretation of rules and STB orders, and of how those apply to UP.
“We are confident that, if the STB accepts the refiled application, it will conduct a vigorous assessment and regulatory review. CPKC encourages every rail customer to get involved. File a notice of intent to participate. All stakeholders must carefully consider what is being proposed here and fully participate in this process. If rail customers, and other stakeholders, don’t provide their perspectives on this irreversible decision, those perspectives will never be heard.”
(CPKC photo)