PETER ROFF: Merger Will Make Lincoln’s Railroad Dream Reality

Lincoln’s ambitions were not limited to ending slavery for all time. He wanted to unite the country, politically and economically, and from coast to coast. Therefore, it should surprise no one that, as consumed as he was by the pressures and challenges posed by the Civil War, he still managed in 1862 to obtain from Congress the authorization to begin construction of a transcontinental railroad.

He understood that the intersection of growth and national unity would lead to prosperity. Today, that same spirit is evident in the proposed merger between the Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern railroads. Together, they will be a partnership for a better future, operating as the only truly coast-to-coast rail network in America.

This is no small thing. In post-lockdown America, we know what it means when supply chains fail for every household and business. Families pay more for groceries and other essentials — when they can get them — while retailers and wholesalers wait weeks, even months, to be resupplied.

No one can predict when we’ll face something like that again. We should try to prepare for it, even though there’s no way to be sure we can prevent it. Federal approval of the Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern merger will create a seamless national network of 50,000 miles of rail running through 43 states while linking almost 100 ports of entry.

Deliveries will be faster, which matters. As they say, time is money. Moreover, the efficiencies gained from eliminating redundancies will reduce shipping costs. That decline will be reflected in prices at the retail level, which is a welcome development now that we’re all concerned about “affordability.”

Operating the two railroads as one company will make the nation’s surface transportation network stronger. Nevertheless, some in the transportation industry oppose the merger, even when they know better. One of them is the Canadian Pacific Kansas City line, based in Calgary. At the time it was formed, the CEO of what was then Kansas City Southern, Patrick J. Ottensmeyer, explained that the full potential of the combined system was waiting to be unlocked.

“Unfortunately, as is often the case when two railroads try to collaborate on arrangements such as joint marketing and joint operating agreements, they fail,” Ottensmeyer told federal regulators during the CP–KCS merger proceedings, “because each railroad works to protect its interests or not expend its capital on a risky commercial opportunity for which there is no guarantee of adequate returns.”