Norfolk Southern flies to Omaha the week of the Union Pacific merger refiling

Norfolk Southern flew from Cobb County International Airport in Atlanta to Eppley Airfield in Omaha on Monday afternoon, May 18, a 1-hour-54-minute hop aboard its Challenger 605, N157NS. The trip lands the Class I railroad’s leadership in the home city of Union Pacific, its would-be merger partner.

The same week, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are battling to get their revised merger application accepted by the Surface Transportation Board. The two railroads filed a 46-page response on May 12 refuting challenges from BNSF, CN, and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, arguing the application “fully complies” with board requirements, per Railway Age. Norfolk Southern CEO Mark George told an industry conference in April that the partners expect the evaluation process to take a year or more once the application is accepted, ascepted, as covered by FreightWaves.

The Omaha visit follows a pattern of high-level travel: Norfolk Southern’s Challenger made multiple trips to Washington, D.C., and Chicago in the prior week, likely for regulatory and operational meetings. With the merger application pending and a new Cincinnati-to-Atlanta intermodal service launching this month, the railroad’s flight schedule reflects a company in the middle of a historic transformation.