The Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger could boost traffic by nearly 10% By Bill Stephens | August 13, 2025 The windfall from a transcontinental system would be a sharp turnaround for both railroads, which have struggled to return to pre-pandemic traffic levels Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern doctored the road numbers on their locomotives in this image to reflect the founding years of their railroads; 1827 for Norfolk Southern’s oldest predecessor and 1862 for Union Pacific. UP/NS OMAHA, Neb. — The proposed Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern transcontinental merger could lead to nearly 10% traffic growth by 2030 — a significant turnaround for railroads that have yet to rebound to their pre-pandemic volume levels. UP and NS did not provide traffic growth projections as part of their July 29 merger announcement. Rather, they said the combination would produce $2.75 billion in syn...