Now that the 2026 Midterm elections are over, it’s a good time to take stock of the political landscape as it relates to rail policy and the UP-NS merger. Whether you like it or not, the merger approval process is firmly in the hands of the lawyers (both inside and outside of Congress). That means we’re going to see political games, “gotchas,” and some possible rail/merger hearings in Congress.
On Tuesday night, Democrats took both chambers of Congress. While it was pretty clear the Dems would take back the House all year, I thought the R’s might still narrowly retain the Senate. I couldn’t have been more wrong.