Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Rail Plan Includes W.Va.

West Virginia would be part of a transcontinental rail network if a proposed merger is approved.

Union Pacific, the nation’s largest railroad, has offered to buy Norfolk Southern in a deal valued at $85 billion.

Norfolk Southern, based in Atlanta, has about 800 miles of track in West Virginia. They’re primarily used to haul coal from southern West Virginia to the port of Norfolk, Virginia.

Norfolk Southern’s line across southern West Virginia has clearances for double-stacked shipping containers, though, opening up the possibility of a single railroad carrying those containers from the West Coast to Norfolk.

Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern trains currently switch from one railroad to the other in Chicago or other points along the Mississippi River, something trucks don’t have to do.

It’s too early to tell what impact the combined company could have on the state or on jobs. The federal Surface Transportation Board would have to approve the deal.

If approved, the deal would create a 52,000 mile railroad spanning 43 states. It would reduce the number of major railroads in North America from six to five.

Coal is a small but significant share of each company’s business: 8% for Union Pacific and 10% for Norfolk Southern. Union Pacific serves the Powder River Basin in Wyoming, the source of 40% of the nation’s coal production.

Norfolk Southern taps into the coalfields of northern and central Appalachia, as well as the Illinois Basin.

About half the combined company’s business would be intermodal, according to an investor presentation. That’s the movement of consumer goods by rail in shipping containers and truck trailers.