House GOP Pushes Regulator for Union Pacific Merger Concessions

The federal regulator in charge of rail mergers shouldn’t approve a blockbuster $85 billion freight union unless their own constituents share in the wealth, according to more than 40 House Republicans.

Union Pacific Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp. must grant “clear, measurable and substantial benefits” to manufacturers, farmers, consumers and energy companies, reads a Wednesday letter to the Surface Transportation Board.

“Absent such a showing, the Board should not permit this transaction to proceed,” the letter adds.

Rail-dependent shippers rank among the most outspoken critics of the looming deal to create the nation’s first transcontinental railroad. Outreach by ...