COMMENTS & CONDITIONS DUE
The Notice of Intent window closed September 30. The next filing deadline matters most: comments, protests, and requests for conditions in STB Docket FD 36873 are due November 18. That is where shippers get their concerns and the conditions they need into the record. A strong filing needs lane-level data, service history, and a specific ask list.
UP–NS Merger Advisory Center | STB Docket FD 36873
The Railroad Merger That
Changes Everything.
Are You Ready?
When two of America’s largest Class I railroads combine into the first true coast-to-coast network, your freight rates, service reliability, and competitive leverage are on the table. The STB review is now in its substantive phase, and what shippers file in the next seven weeks will shape the conditions the Board imposes. PraxiChain’s rail industry veterans know exactly what that means, and what to do about it.
The Biggest Rail Restructuring in a Generation
On April 30, 2026, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern refiled their application with the Surface Transportation Board to create the first U.S. transcontinental railroad, a combined network spanning 50,000 route miles across 43 states. On May 28, the STB accepted the revised application but held proceedings in abeyance and ordered supplemental information, which UP and NS filed on July 7 and July 27. On August 18, the Board lifted the abeyance and adopted a full procedural schedule. Notices of Intent to Participate closed on September 30, after an extension from the original September 4 date. The case is now in its substantive phase.
History has a pattern here. The UP–SP integration and the CP–KCS merger both triggered system-wide service meltdowns — on-time performance collapsed to 26% in the aftermath of each. The CSX-Conrail split reshaped Eastern rail competition in ways shippers are still navigating today. The UP–NS transaction is larger and more structurally complex than any of them.
The next deadline is the one that counts. Comments, protests, and requests for conditions are due November 18, 2026. That filing is the main way shippers put evidence and specific asks on the record. Responses and rebuttals follow through Spring 2027, and a final ruling is expected late 2027. The conditions the Board imposes will be drawn largely from what parties file by November 18.
Key Dates & Milestones
On August 18, 2026, the STB removed the proceedings from abeyance and issued a full procedural schedule running through 2027. The Notice of Intent window closed on September 30. Next up: comments and requests for conditions, due November 18.
UP and NS submit a corrected 7,000+ page application addressing January 2026 STB rejection.
STB accepted the revised application but held proceedings in abeyance pending supplemental information, which UP and NS filed on July 7 and July 27, along with a customer protection package.
The STB removed the merger proceedings from abeyance and adopted a full procedural schedule.
Notices of Intent to Participate were due. Parties who filed are on the service list and can submit comments, request conditions, and participate in the evidentiary record.
Comments, protests, requests for conditions, and responsive applications are due. This is the primary opportunity for shippers to put concerns and required conditions on the record. Responses and rebuttals follow through March 29, 2027.
Discovery, expert testimony, and data-backed evidence on competitive impacts.
Final decision expected in late 2027. Board approves, denies, or approves with conditions. Your leverage ends here if you haven’t engaged.
What This Merger Means for You
The case is public: UP and NS are defending the deal directly, projecting $3.5 billion in annual shipper savings, while BNSF, CPKC, and rail labor are pushing back just as hard. None of that decides your outcome. What decides it is the evidence and conditions you put in the docket by November 18. Here’s what each stakeholder group should build its case around.
Merger Experience That Can’t Be Faked
Our team has sat at these tables before — as carrier executives, shipper advocates, and regulatory practitioners. That inside knowledge is your strategic edge.
Our consultants include former AVPs and directors from BNSF, UP, NS, and KCS. We know exactly how merger teams think, what they protect, and where they have room to move.
The NOI got you in the room. Now the record gets built. We guide shippers and stakeholders through comments, condition requests, and evidentiary filings, so your November 18 submission is specific, data-backed, and hard to ignore.
Our team has negotiated millions of dollars in North American rail freight contracts. We know how to build an ask list that delivers results and how to time it against the merger schedule for maximum leverage.
The People in Your Corner
PraxiChain’s rail practice draws on decades of carrier, regulatory, and shipper-side experience.
From Assessment to Advocacy
Every shipper’s exposure is different. We start with your specific footprint and build a strategy from there.
Merger Exposure Assessment
Complete audit of your current rail operations, contracts, and competitive dependencies across UP and NS networks. We identify where you’re captive, where you have leverage, and what the merger changes.
Strategy & Ask List Development
Build your customized list of service commitments, rate protections, and operational guarantees to request as conditions by November 18, and pursue them directly with the merged carrier. We help you quantify and articulate your value.
Regulatory Participation
Guide you through every formal step after the NOI: written comments and requests for conditions due November 18, evidentiary submissions, and responses through 2027. Our process knowledge keeps your voice in front of decision-makers through the final ruling.
Filed Your NOI? Here’s What Comes Next
The Notice of Intent window closed September 30. If you filed, you’re a party of record, and your next filing carries the most weight. Comments, protests, and requests for conditions are due November 18, 2026. If you missed the NOI deadline, talk to us or to the STB’s Rail Customer and Public Assistance office (1-866-254-1792) about your options.
What A Strong November 18 Filing Includes
Stay Informed. Stay in the Proceeding.
Key filings, analysis, and tools to track the merger from announcement through final ruling.
All official STB decisions, procedural orders, and party filings are publicly available on the STB docket.
PraxiChain’s 18-page analysis covers competitive impacts, corridor-by-corridor risk, and strategic options for shippers across commodity groups.
Karen Burchfield, former AVP of BNSF, asks whether the merged railroad can meet about $1.4 billion a year in fixed obligations if projected growth doesn’t materialize, and what that sensitivity means for shippers seeking conditions.
PraxiChain explores the merger with Steve Truitt, former VP and Chief Transportation Officer of KCS — opportunities amid the upheaval.
PraxiChain Principal James Shefelbine discusses the pros and cons of the merger for shippers in this DC Velocity podcast episode.
The STB’s Rail Customer Public Assistance program helps rail customers navigate the regulatory process at no cost. Call 1-866-254-1792 or email rcpa@stb.gov.
Request a Merger Readiness Consultation
Whether you need to prepare November 18 comments, build a conditions list, or understand your rate exposure, PraxiChain’s rail team is ready. Consultations are confidential and tailored to your specific commodity, geography, and rail spend.
The shippers who put specific asks on the record by November 18 will shape the terms of this merger. Those who don’t will accept whatever terms they’re given.
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