BNSF Railway is turning up the pressure on its biggest rival’s plan to buy Norfolk Southern, enlisting farm customers in a campaign to persuade federal regulators to block what would be the first US transcontinental railroad. In an interview reported by RFD-TV on 21 October, BNSF’s Zak Andersen said the company had opposed the proposal from the start and that its farm and ranch customers shared those concerns.
Andersen argued the merger would put about half of the US rail market in one company’s hands and leave roughly 10,000 locations that only Union Pacific could serve. Today, he said, many shippers can choose between Union Pacific and BNSF in the West, and between Norfolk Southern and CSX in the East.
A coalition of rivals and customers
BNSF is part of the Stop the Rail Merger Coalition, launched in April alongside Canadian Pacific Kansas City, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Chemistry Council and the Teamsters Rail Conference. BNSF chief executive Katie Farmer has framed the deal as “driven by Wall Street on the promise of a big shareholder payout.” The National Farmers Union has separately asked regulators to reject it, citing past rail consolidations that it says left farmers with higher rates and poorer service.
Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern have their own allies. Nebraska’s governor and the state chamber of commerce back the merger, and Canadian National secured terms in July that won its endorsement.
A long regulatory road
The Surface Transportation Board lifted a hold on the case in August and set a timetable, according to WOWT. Preliminary comments from the Justice and Transportation departments are due on 3 December, responses and protests by 16 February 2027, and a final decision is expected in the second quarter of 2027. BNSF, CSX, a short-line railroad and shipper groups had asked for the longest evidentiary period allowed, 395 days. The board also criticised the applicants for filtering out large portions of their underlying data, and ordered it resubmitted.
For BNSF, the cheapest way to compete with a transcontinental rival is to stop it being built.
What to watch
- The Justice and Transportation departments’ preliminary views due on 3 December.
- Whether BNSF and CSX shift from outright opposition to seeking access conditions.
- Public hearings, which are unlikely before March 2027.
