UP-NS Merger Comment Form

01 / About you

Include name in filing?

YesNo

First Name

Last Name

Email

Used for your confirmation and, only if you permit it, follow-up questions.

City

State

Zip

Phone

Relationship to rail industry

May we contact you with questions?

YesNo

02 / Your concerns

In Decision No. 21, the Board identified eight areas where it seeks comment: competitive enhancements; 2-to-1/3-to-2 shipper access; public-benefit claims, including diversion analysis; the Service Assurance Plan; TRRA/KCT/TTX gateway issues; market-share projections; downstream merger impacts; and passenger rail matters.

BLET, BMWED, and TCU are also collecting comments on environmental concerns for submission to the OEA. You may select more than one concern.

Concern category

03 / Your comment

Comment

The Surface Transportation Board (STB), which is the Federal Government agency that is overseeing the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern railroad merger, wants to hear from you on your thoughts on the proposed merger. Your voice will make a difference on what the STB decides to do. We highly encourage you to send a comment to the STB using this comment portal because this merger would be a disaster for local communities across the country including yours and worsen quality of life and raise everyday prices all while enriching Wall Street.

The people enduring bad outcomes from this proposed railroad merger won't be the people receiving a benefit. Union Pacific's own filing identifies communities like mine that will be negatively impacted by this proposed merger. Over 100 million Americans, including myself live in a place that could be impacted by a train derailment. Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern respectively are the two least safe large freight railroads in the United States.

Specifically for residents like myself that live near the rail infrastructure, potential impacts in my community include:

- Increased risk of train derailments
- Longer trains
- Blocked crossings
- Increased emergency respond times
- More truck traffic around intermodal facilities
- Reduced neighborhood connectivity
- Reduction in quality of life

I urge the STB to take these issues into account when considering UP's application for its proposed merger and recognize that this merger won't benefit myself or my community by denying UP's application. We don't need additional corporate consolidation in the rail industry that will cost hard-working Americans by raising everyday prices while enriching UP's corporate executives and Wall Street.

1,200 / 5,000 characters

Location/route affected

Optional, but valuable for both environmental and competition claims. Identify a rail line, corridor, crossing, terminal, facility, or community affected.

04 / Review and submit

I understand that my comment may be included, with or without my name based on my choice above, as an exhibit to BLET, BMWED, and TCU's filing with the Surface Transportation Board or its Office of Environmental Analysis. Any exhibit filed in Docket FD 36873 becomes part of the public federal record. BLET, BMWED, and TCU, as parties of record, are responsible for serving the filing on other parties and do not need to disclose my identity to do so.

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