Union Pacific blasts rival railroads’ trackage rights requests

Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena is critical of rival railroads' plans to request trackage rights over a combined UP-Norfolk Southern system. "The idea to give up tracks of your railroad for no reason at all just goes against the fundamental principle of how … business should work," Vena told an investor conference. Last week BNSF Railway (NYSE: BRK-B), CPKC (NYSE: CP), and CSX (NASDAQ: CSX)—along with 11 short lines— in filings with the Surface Transportation Board said that they planned to seek widespread trackage rights and access to customers on UP-NS (NYSE: NSC), should the proposed merger gain regulatory approval. BNSF put forward two major proposals.