STB Orders UP-NS Merger Applicants to Make Employee Data Public

The Surface Transportation Board today announced a decision ordering Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS) (together, Applicants) to redesignate as public certain employee data submitted to the Board with their revised major merger application.

On May 28, 2026, the Board held the UP-NS merger proceeding in abeyance pending further order of the Board and sought supplemental information from Applicants. In that decision the Board stated that the abeyance did not affect discovery. On July 2, 2026, several labor unions filed a joint motion requesting the Board order Applicants to redesignate as "public" the employee impact exhibits included in appendices to the revised application, arguing the Applicants had improperly designated the information as "highly confidential." These exhibits provide detailed information on how the proposed merger would affect craft and management employees of UP and NS, including numbers of positions that would be abolished, created, or designated as transferred because of the proposed merger, and the job transfer locations for certain positions.

In today's decision the Board grants the unions' motion, finding that this type of information has been publicly disclosed in prior Board proceedings and does not appear to be commercially or competitively sensitive. Applicants must redesignate the employee impact exhibits as public and file those documents with the Board by July 27, 2026. The Board also notes it is committed to ensuring that its proceedings remain open to meaningful participation by all interested persons, and Applicants may take the opportunity to address as appropriate any concerns about public participation as part of their supplemental responses.

The Board's decision in Union Pacific Corporation and Union Pacific Railroad Company-Control-Norfolk Southern Corporation and Norfolk Southern Railway Company, Docket No. FD 36873, may be viewed and downloaded here.