South Carolina has spent decades building an economy around manufacturing, trade and its ability to move goods efficiently. From the Port of Charleston to the manufacturing corridor along Interstate 85, much of the state’s continued economic growth depends on getting products to customers and raw materials to businesses quickly and reliably.
A proposed merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern could give South Carolina businesses something the American freight rail system has never offered before: a single railroad connecting markets from the East Coast to the West Coast.
Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are seeking approval from the federal Surface Transportation Board to combine their respective rail networks and create what the companies describe as America’s first single-line transcontinental railroad.
For South Carolina, where Norfolk Southern already plays an important role in connecting manufacturers and the Port of Charleston, the proposal could provide businesses with more direct access to customers and suppliers across the country.
Connecting South Carolina to the West
The basic argument behind the merger is relatively straightforward.
Norfolk Southern operates primarily throughout the eastern United States, while Union Pacific's network is concentrated across the West. Because their systems largely serve different parts of the country, freight traveling between eastern and western markets frequently has to be transferred from one railroad to another somewhere in the middle of the country.
Those interchanges can add time, additional handling and complexity to a shipment.
Under the proposed combination, freight originating on Norfolk Southern's network in South Carolina could potentially remain with the same railroad as it travels to destinations throughout Union Pacific's western territory.
According to the companies' executive summary of the merger application, the combined system would serve 43 states and convert approximately 10,000 existing freight lanes from multi-railroad service to single-line service.
The companies also estimate the combination would create approximately 88,000 additional county-to-county lanes where freight currently moving by truck could have access to single-line rail service for the first time.
That additional connectivity could be particularly relevant in South Carolina.
Why It Matters to Charleston
Norfolk Southern is already deeply tied to the state's freight infrastructure.
The railroad connects Charleston with Inland Port Greer, where South Carolina Ports says Norfolk Southern provides overnight rail service between the Upstate and Charleston six days per week.
That connection effectively extends the Port of Charleston more than 200 miles inland into the heart of one of the Southeast's busiest manufacturing corridors.
South Carolina Ports recently completed a $55 million expansion of Inland Port Greer, increasing its annual rail lift capacity to approximately 300,000 moves. SC Ports has described the Charleston-to-Greer route as one of the largest international intermodal lanes in Norfolk Southern's network.
The Upstate operation serves a region anchored by major manufacturers and distributors and sits along the I-85 corridor between Charlotte and Atlanta. According to SC Ports, roughly 94 million people live within 500 miles of Inland Port Greer.
Connecting that existing South Carolina rail infrastructure to a single coast-to-coast network could make it easier for businesses moving goods through Charleston or the Upstate to reach western markets without the traditional handoff between railroads.
For exporters, manufacturers and logistics companies, eliminating an interchange can mean fewer opportunities for delays and a simpler supply chain.
More Freight on Rail, Fewer Trucks on Highways
The merger application also makes the case that better long-distance rail service could move freight away from highways.
Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern project that the combined network could remove approximately 2.1 million truckloads from U.S. highways each year.
They estimate that shifting freight from higher-cost long-haul trucking to rail could save shippers approximately $3.5 billion annually. The companies also project the shift would eliminate nearly 3.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, noting that freight rail can produce substantially fewer emissions than moving the same freight by truck.
Those are national projections, but the concept has obvious implications for a state that continues to experience rapid population growth and increasing pressure on major highways.
More competitive rail service gives South Carolina companies another way to move freight without placing every additional container or shipment onto the interstate system.
Faster Service and Fewer Handoffs
The companies say the operational benefits would go beyond simply connecting two maps.
Their analysis estimates that the combined railroad could eliminate approximately 2,550 rail car and container handlings and 65,000 car-miles every day.
The plan also calls for new intermodal routes connecting eastern and western markets.
One proposed service would connect Northern California with the Southeast, while another would improve service between Southern California and the Southeast. According to the merger application, some Southern California-to-Southeast shipments could see transit times improve by more than two days.
For a South Carolina manufacturer receiving components from the West Coast — or a company shipping finished products west — cutting a day or two from transportation time can have a meaningful effect on inventory, production schedules and costs.
Customer Protections Added to the Proposal
Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern have also announced a series of additional customer commitments as the Surface Transportation Board reviews the transaction.
In a July filing outlining new customer assurances, the companies said they would expand programs designed to maintain competitive rail options and give customers additional protections if service problems occur during integration.
Among the commitments, the railroads say customers could receive temporary access to an alternative railroad if merger integration causes service to deteriorate. They have also proposed additional rate-relief mechanisms if the public benefits promised through the merger are not being delivered.
The companies have further pledged to preserve existing rail gateways for eligible traffic on commercially reasonable terms.
According to their merger fast facts, only five customer locations out of more than 20,000 served by the two companies would otherwise move from having two rail carriers to one, and the companies say those customers would receive another rail option.
A Bigger Opportunity for South Carolina
South Carolina's economic success has long depended on its connectivity.
The Port of Charleston connects the state with international markets. Inland Port Greer connects Charleston with the Upstate's manufacturing base. Interstates connect South Carolina businesses with the Southeast.
A coast-to-coast railroad could add another piece to that infrastructure by giving businesses moving freight through South Carolina a more direct connection to markets across the western United States.
The proposal still requires approval from the Surface Transportation Board, and the economic and operational benefits outlined by Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern remain projections subject to that federal review.
But for a state that has built much of its modern economy around manufacturing, logistics and international trade, the potential is substantial.
Connecting South Carolina's existing rail and port infrastructure to a seamless national network could mean fewer freight handoffs, faster shipments, greater access to western markets and another competitive advantage for businesses choosing to manufacture and invest in the Palmetto State.