Intermodal, Drayage & Chassis
Special Report
UP and NS now have until Feb. 17 to inform regulators that they plan to refile an amended application, the deadline for which would be June 22. Once resubmitted, the STB will initiate a similar 30-day review of the application’ s completeness, which likely means it will not issue a final decision on the merger itself until at least the second half of 2027.
In the meantime, the 6,000-plus-page initial application gives a glimpse into the potential benefits of a merged UP-NS network, including opportunities to convert millions of loads from the truckload sector, faster transit times and reduced drayage costs for international intermodal freight, as well as some potential drawbacks.
“ To achieve the transit time improvements on certain routes requires making trade-offs,” UP acknowledged in the application.“[ This ] requires changes that have the opposite impact on a route with less traffic.”
According to the application, a combined UP-NS would divert nearly 2 million truck movements from highways annually. The estimated 1.17 million truckloads UP and NS expect to shift to intermodal rail would represent an 11 % increase over their combined intermodal volume in 2023.
A combined UP-NS would divert 2 million truck movements from highways annually. Wirestock Creators / Shutterstock. com
“ To achieve the transit time improvements on certain routes requires making trade-offs.”
If approved, the merger would enable new single-line intermodal routings with shorter transit times. The application highlighted four intermodal corridors where an enlarged UP can achieve considerable growth: Northern California – New Jersey; Southern California – Pennsylvania / New Jersey; Southern California – Georgia / North Carolina; and Texas – East Coast.
Intermodal trains from Southern California to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Croxton( Newark), New Jersey, routed via Kansas City, would save 17 to 19 hours. Trains moving between Southern California and the Southeast via the Meridian Speedway would save three to four days compared with current routings that often move north to Memphis before turning south toward Atlanta.
A major upgrade is an expedited Lathrop, California – Croxton service with a sub-four-day transit time, a truck-like schedule that would be difficult for BNSF to match because its route is longer by mileage. The train would travel through Chicago but have a seamless crew handoff rather than draying containers across the city between terminals.
UP also said it would operate a daily Southern California-Northeast train routed through Kansas City. The approach follows UP’ s opening of a new Kansas City terminal this summer and the launch of UP-NS trains to Louisville routed via Kansas City this fall, a service that would become single line if the merger is approved.
“ Customers will benefit from faster, more reliable service, improved asset utilization and a streamlined customer experience,” UP CEO Jim Vena said in an investor call the morning the application was filed.“ Status quo isn’ t an option.”
For international intermodal, UP said single-line services would eliminate 67,000 long-haul drayage moves annually, saving shippers $ 112.8 million. Eliminating the 250,000 annual rail lifts currently dedicated to cross-town drayage in Chicago, Kansas City, St. Louis and Memphis would save UP-NS an additional $ 12 million per year and free crane capacity to load and unload other containers more efficiently.
“ Intermodal companies currently tasked with trucking their containers between UP and NS intermodal yards in Chicago, Kansas City, St. Louis and Memphis will finally be able to leave their trailers and containers on railcars for the entirety of the move,” Scott Harris, chief commercial officer of drayage provider CAD Logistics, wrote in the application.“ This time and cost savings will help US intermodal traffic grow over the next decade.”
In all, the application identified 82 specific intermodal routes across the US where containers will stay on the rail for the entire journey but today require a cross-town dray between two terminals.
The merger would not eliminate all cross-town drayage, however. Chicago hosts all six Class I railroads, while Memphis has five and Kansas City four, meaning terminal-to-terminal drayage will remain necessary.
12 Journal of Commerce | February 2, 2026 www. joc. com