CPKC, CN Rail warn on risks around proposed Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern merger

Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. and Canadian National Railway Co. are warning about the impact to competition of a proposed rail merger in the U.S. that would create that country’s first coast-to-coast freight railway.  

In a release Friday, CPKC said Union Pacific’s proposed purchase of Norfolk Southern would “radically” change America’s rail network and pose “extraordinary” risks to customers, workers and supply chains.

The cautionary words from CPKC — the only major railway to span all three countries in North America — come after Union Pacific on Friday filed an application with the U.S. transport regulator to review the merger plan.

CN Rail says in a press release Friday that the merger would reduce options for rail transportation while creating a single entity controlling more than 40 per cent of the U.S. freight rail market.

The applicants say it would streamline rail service, take trucks off the road and protect union jobs — though two of their biggest unions oppose the move.

Other industry players have warned that the US$85-billion deal between two of North America’s biggest railroad operators would see the merged company handle some 40 per cent of American freight and potentially trigger a final wave of rail mergers across the continent.

The acquisition would marry Union Pacific’s vast rail network in the Western U.S. with Norfolk’s rails that snake across the country’s eastern half, stitching together more than 80,000 kilometres of track in 43 states with connections to major ports on both coasts.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 19, 2025.

Companies in this story: (TSX:CP)