United States: BNSF Says UP-CN Settlement "Does Nothing" to Fix UP-NS Merger's Competition Problem

BNSF said on 24 July 2026 that Union Pacific's new settlement agreement with Canadian National "does nothing to change the fact that this merger doesn't enhance competition," according to Zak Andersen, BNSF's Chief of Staff and Vice President of Communications, quoted by FreightWaves.

Union Pacific and CN announced on 22 July that they had signed binding memoranda of understanding covering competitive access tied to the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger, under which CN agreed not to oppose the transaction before the U.S. Surface Transportation Board.

Andersen said the arrangement "undermines one of the core arguments for the merger" by showing that access and efficiency gains Union Pacific has cited to justify the transaction can be delivered through commercial agreements between competing railroads rather than a full merger.

The Surface Transportation Board, which must find that the merger enhances rather than reduces competition before approving it, had requested additional information from Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, due by 27 July. BNSF has opposed the UP-NS transaction since it was announced, and its 24 July statement extends that opposition to the new UP-CN settlement.