PSR made Class I railroads the darlings of Wall Street. But to many rail shippers, PSR’s operating efficiencies came at a cost. The resiliency and service levels that allows for rail volume growth and recovery from emergency events was rationalized out of the system. Now, with the UP-NS merger, the PSR playbook can be applied to a larger unified network. If you’re a shipper burned by some aspects of PSR, you might be skeptical if this benefits you.

Does the merger herald a new era of PSR?
What questions should shippers be asking in relation to how their freight is handled on the consolidated network?

Find out by reading PLG’s strategic analysis of the merger and PSR.

If the STB approves the UP-NS merger, the question shippers should be asking is not whether the deal creates efficiencies. It is whether they are protected by promises or by alternatives.

That is the difference between behavioral and structural remedies. Committed Gateway Pricing, arbitration, service reporting, and oversight are all behavioral. They regulate conduct after approval. Trackage rights, divestitures, terminal access, and reciprocal switching are structural. They preserve a competing carrier as a real option.