Union Pacific Chief Executive Jim Vena said he is “99.99%” confident regulators will approve the railroad’s proposed $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern, arguing that the combination would speed freight deliveries and strengthen rail’s competition with trucking.

Speaking with Fox Business News Oct. 6, Vena defended the proposed merger against opposition from some labor unions, agricultural groups and competing railroads. 

Asked how certain he was of approval, Vena acknowledged a small measure of uncertainty: “You always have to have a little bit of doubt, but I’m 99.99%.”

The transaction remains subject to approval by the Surface Transportation Board.

“We know that the process through the STB, even though it’s … crazy long, they’ll get to the right decision,” Vena said. “And the right decision is, you have to do what’s better for the country and more opportunity to move ahead and not look backwards.”

Vena said joining the Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) and Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) networks could save customers 24 to 48 hours by eliminating interchange delays on freight moving between the western and eastern United States. The railroads contend that the combination would allow them to compete more effectively with trucking through lower prices and greater efficiency. 

The combined railroad would encompass roughly 50,000 miles of track, and opponents of the consolidation contend it would give the partners near-monopoly powers in rail transportation. Vena argued that competitors’ opposition reflected concern about the stronger service offering the merged company could bring to the market.

“In the business world, if they thought we were doing something illogical and it made no sense, they would just stay quiet … and let us fail, but we’re not failing,” he said. “That’s what they’re worried about. We’re gonna have a better product, lower price, more capability to move and win in the marketplace.”

In an August letter to the Trump administration, the Stop the Rail Merger Coalition of shippers said the combination would place nearly half of the nation’s rail traffic under one company’s control. The coalition warned of harm to farmers, manufacturers, energy producers and railroad workers, along with higher consumer costs and risks to supply chains.

President Donald Trump had initially expressed support for the transaction. A final STB decision is expected in 2027.

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Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

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