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Union Pacific to buy Norfolk in $85B mega U.S. railroad deal

cnbc.com

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Re: Union Pacific to buy Norfolk in $85B mega U.S. railroad deal

#4
Shortening “Norfolk Southern” to “Norfolk” makes this confusing to read. Norfolk is a city (and former HQ of Norfolk Southern). “Union” isn’t shortened the same…

Also, railroads are already monopoly, it’s not like anyone can lay down new tracks, and operators aren’t required to allow 3rd parties on their networks…

Re: Union Pacific to buy Norfolk in $85B mega U.S. railroad deal

#5
post #2

What happened to antitrust? We were making great progress and then a few months ago this admin totally flipped?

> The transaction faces numerous regulatory hurdles and will serve as a key test of the changed thinking around antitrust issues under President Donald Trump.

In other words, the companies have agreed to merge, but regulators will still have to approve.

Re: Union Pacific to buy Norfolk in $85B mega U.S. railroad deal

#7
post #4

Shortening “Norfolk Southern” to “Norfolk” makes this confusing to read. Norfolk is a city (and former HQ of Norfolk Southern). “Union” isn’t shortened the same… Also, railroads are already monopoly, it’s not like anyone can lay down new tracks, and operators aren’t required to allow 3rd parties on their networks…

Only confusing if you think it’s more likely that a railroad company is buying a town instead of another large railroad company…

They may be a monopoly in their regions but this would be the first time in a long while we had the same name coast to coast.

Re: Union Pacific to buy Norfolk in $85B mega U.S. railroad deal

#8
post #2

What happened to antitrust? We were making great progress and then a few months ago this admin totally flipped?

We were making great progress under the previous administration until six months ago, yes.

Oh, no, you were not! The fact that it's way worse now, doesn't mean you had "great progress" before.

Re: Union Pacific to buy Norfolk in $85B mega U.S. railroad deal

#10
post #2

What happened to antitrust? We were making great progress and then a few months ago this admin totally flipped?

The case for merger is that the the two lines don't really overlap, so it (arguably) won't decrease competition. Meanwhile a larger network would make things more efficient for shippers because goods can travel coast to coast without changing trains.

https://archive.is/65ihv

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