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Union Pacific is confident its $85 billion bid for Norfolk Southern "is going to get passed," CEO Jim Vena told the audience at Inland25 Wednesday. 

Why it matters: Momentum for the megamerger, which would create a transcontinental railroad, has picked up following support from President Trump and the SMART-TD union.

What they're saying: "We might get concessions that we have to examine," Vena said at the Journal of Commerce Inland Distribution 2025 conference in Chicago. 

"We're proposing something that gives more competitiveness to our biggest single competitor, which is truck," he said.

Paul Bingham, director of transportation consulting, S&P Global Market Intelligence, agrees that the deal is likely to go through.

"It just seems extremely unlikely that at this point it would not get approved," he said.

The intrigue: Vena said Union Pacific approached Norfolk Southern rival CSX about a merger, but that railroad's leadership rebuffed its outreach.

"At the end of the day, you can talk to everybody and say 'would you like to get into a deal?'" he said.

CSX this week abruptly replaced its CEO Joe Hinrichs, who was notably resistant to mergers. Hinrichs was set to speak at the conference, but VP of intermodal sales and marketing Andrew Johnson took his place.

"Norfolk Southern always was the railroad we looked at, when we looked at it in depth, with the best opportunity to grow," Vena added.

Between the lines: The combined railroad's pricing power and service are perhaps the two most major concerns of the shipper audience at the conference. 

Vena addressed both during the roughly 45-minute onstage conversation with Journal of Commerce senior editor Ari Ashe.

"Not one customer is going to lose anything they have today," the CEO said.

"We're not stupid enough to price so high in some areas where we push people out of the business," Vena said.

Context: Lawrence Gross, an intermodal expert and founder of Gross Transportation Consulting, said the key to improving service will be accepting higher operating costs and more complexity.

"The merger is not a magic bullet," Gross said. "The magic bullet is operating practice."

What's next: Union Pacific plans to submit its merger application to the Surface Transportation Board by late January. 

The railroad will have 30 days to close the deal once it is approved.

What we're watching: Many in the industry and on Wall Street expected a BNSF-CSX combination to follow, before Warren Buffett threw cold water on the idea. 

"I never thought there was going to be another merger announced," he said.

Union Pacific CEO tells shippers Norfolk Southern deal will be approved

The $85 billion megadeal to create a transcontinental railroad has gained momentum with President Trump's and the SMART-TD union's support.

Two men seated on stage having a discussion; one wears a black suit and glasses, the other a gray suit with a blue tie. Behind them are large images of train tracks, metal wires, and a highway through mountains.

Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena (right) is interviewed by Journal of Commerce senior editor Ari Ashe at the Inland Distribution 2025 conference. Photo: Colin Campbell/Axios

Union Pacific is confident its $85 billion bid for Norfolk Southern &quot;is going to get passed,&quot; CEO Jim Vena told the audience at Inland25 Wednesday. Why it matters: Momentum for the megamerger, which would create a transcontinental railroad, has picked up following support from President Trump and the SMART-TD union.

Union Pacific CEO tells shippers Norfolk Southern deal will be approved

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