Why It’s Taken Until Now for the U.S.’s First Coast-to-Coast Rail Operator

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• 00:03

  A mega merger creates America's first coast to coast rail operator.

• 00:08

  Plus,

• 00:09

  why utilities and technology companies are at odds over who should pay for the electricity costs in the unprecedented data center buildout.

• 00:17

  Utilities have for a long time been increasing rates to make the investments needed to stabilize the grid at this time.

• 00:23

  And in some places,

• 00:25

  the sheer amount of demand coming from data centers specifically adds another layer of stress.

• 00:30

  And how one of the biggest credit card deals ever could bring JP Morgan Chase and Apple together.

• 00:36

  It's Tuesday, July 29th.

• 00:38

  I'm Alex Zosula for The Wall Street Journal.

• 00:40

  This is the PM edition of What's News,

• 00:43

  the top headlines and business stories that move the world today.

• 00:48

  Union Pacific has agreed to acquire Norfolk Southern in a $71.5 billion deal,

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  which would create the first company to control coast-to-coast rail shipments,

• 00:58

  joining 50,000 miles of railroad tracks that span from the Jersey Shore to the ports in California.

• 01:03

  The union would create a single company controlling coast-to-coast rail shipments for the first time in U.S. history.

• 01:09

  The deal still requires regulatory approval from the Surface Transportation Board.

• 01:14

  Esther Fung covers transportation companies for the journal and joins me now.

• 01:18

  Esther, why did we not have a coast-to-coast railway operator before?

• 01:22

  The reason why we don't have one single coast-to-coast rail operator before is largely due to regulators.

• 01:30

  In the past, When there were mergers between major railroads,

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