One of America's six big "Class I" railways. Together with BNSF, which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, Union Pacific runs the tracks west of Chicago. Its chief executive, Jim Vena, is a disciple of E. Hunter Harrison, who died in 2017 after running three of the six Class I railways and pioneering "precision railroading", a scheduling technique that is now the industry standard.
In July 2025 Union Pacific agreed to merge with Norfolk Southern in a deal worth $85bn, which (along with CSX) dominates the tracks east of Chicago. A deal would create the first coast-to-coast American railway and would probably force a corresponding tie-up between BNSF and CSX. According to Oliver Wyman, the share of intermodal goods travelling by rail on journeys longer than 1,500 miles rises from 39% to 65% when served by a direct line. Transcontinental railways would also mean fewer lengthy stops in Chicago.
America's railway track length peaked in 1916, the year Congress began funding roads. There were more than 30 Class I railroads when the industry was deregulated in 1980; furious consolidation reduced that number to six. A moratorium on mergers was issued after Canadian National tried to combine with BNSF in 1999. The Surface Transportation Board ruled that future deals would have to "enhance" competition. The ratio of Class I railroads' operating expenses to revenues fell from 77% in 2005 to 59% in 2021, but has risen slightly since.
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