{
  "id": 7323211,
  "title": "BNSF, CPKC, and CSX to request broad access to a combined UP-NS network",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/bnsf-cpkc-and-csx-to-request-broad-access-to-a-combined-up-ns-network",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-14T12:59:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "FreightWaves",
    "slug": "freightwaves",
    "url": "https://www.freightwaves.com/news/bnsf-cpkc-and-csx-to-request-broad-access-to-a-combined-up-ns-network"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "BNSF Railway, CPKC, and CSX have announced their intent to request extensive trackage rights over a combined Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern system if the merger is approved by federal regulators. Both CPKC and CSX are particularly interested in gaining access to the Kansas City-St. Louis corridor, which is currently controlled by UP or NS. The railroads contend that their existing trackage rights arrangement, involving Canadian National, does not sufficiently restore competition. These plans were outlined in their regulatory filings with the Surface Transportation Board on Wednesday. The railroads expect to submit responsive applications by a Nov. 18 deadline, and they have urged the STB to reject the merger outright, arguing that it will harm competition, the economy, and is not in the public interest. If the STB approves the $85 billion deal, the railroads suggest the board should impose numerous conditions to mitigate potential competitive harms. BNSF seeks 824 miles of trackage rights over Norfolk Southern's Premier Corridor, stretching from Chicago to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. This route is a crucial intermodal lane for BNSF and NS interline service, primarily for shared customer J.B. Hunt. BNSF warns that if the merger is approved, UP/NS would have the power to restrict BNSF's competitive options, allowing them to charge higher prices to customers. To counteract this, BNSF is requesting overhead trackage rights on certain NS lines between Chicago and eastern Pennsylvania. In the Gulf Coast region, BNSF will ask the STB to require UP to create a neutral switching or terminal railroad that would serve all UP- and BNSF-rail-served facilities. This neutral carrier would provide equal access to rail-served customers in the region, impacting a major petrochemical hub in Houston. CPKC intends to propose trackage rights improvements and new operating rights over UP and NS systems, along with requesting additional trackage rights in the Kansas City-St. Louis corridor. Furthermore, CPKC will seek new rights to operate on UP trackage in the Baton Rouge area and near the Lufkin Subdivision. Additionally, CPKC will ask the STB to prevent NS or UP from acquiring its Dallas-area intermodal terminal in Wylie, Texas.",
  "summary": "BNSF, CPKC and CSX want broad operating rights over a merged UP-NS network. The post BNSF, CPKC, and CSX to request broad access to a combined UP-NS network appeared first on FreightWaves .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}