A train carrying shipping containers moves along a Norfolk-Southern line in Phillipsburg, N.J., on Oct. 20, 2024. (Photo by Dana DiFilippo/New Jersey Monitor)
In my business, everything can be going right — until a shipment doesn’t show up.
Then the whole job can start to unravel: crews sit idle, costs climb, and deadlines start slipping fast. It’s a reality that business owners across South Carolina and the country know too well.
That’s exactly why stronger, more connected rail service isn’t just a transportation issue. It’s an economic one.
The proposed merger of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern brings that opportunity into focus.
It represents a chance to modernize how freight moves across our region and ensure South Carolina companies can keep pace with growing demand.
The federal Surface Transportation Board in January rejected the application as incomplete. But the railway companies expect to file a revised application later this month.
South Carolina is experiencing some of the fastest economic and personal income growth in the country, driven by a strong business climate that allows companies to invest, hire, and expand.
That growth is putting increasing strain on our transportation infrastructure, especially in Upstate South Carolina, where manufacturing and distribution are growing fast and putting even more pressure on the systems that keep goods moving.
Our state moves roughly 60 million tons of goods by rail each year, supporting everything from advanced manufacturing to construction and distribution.
But as growth accelerates, so does the strain on our infrastructure.
Too much of our freight still moves by truck, adding congestion to already crowded highways and increasing wear and tear that taxpayers ultimately have to cover.
A single fully loaded long-haul truck can have the same impact on our roads as thousands of passenger vehicles, and those costs add up quickly.
Shifting more freight to rail would not only improve efficiency, it would also ease pressure on highways and reduce congestion in communities across the state.
More broadly, the nation is already seeing the consequences of falling behind.
Nationally, infrastructure experts estimate that failing to close the investment gap could cost the U.S. economy more than $10 trillion in gross domestic product and millions of jobs in the years ahead, while reducing household incomes along the way.
This is where private investment — and this merger in particular — can make a real difference. Unlike highways, freight rail is largely funded and maintained by private companies instead of taxpayers.
Strengthening that system through smart investments and better integration offers a practical way to expand capacity, improve reliability, and support continued economic growth without placing additional strain on public resources.
This merger would help do exactly that.
By creating a more seamless rail network across more than 50,000 route miles in 43 states, it would connect businesses in South Carolina to customers, suppliers, ports, and markets across the country with fewer handoffs and lower costs, and greater efficiency.
This would strengthen South Carolina’s industrial and logistics economy for the long term.
A more connected rail network would make our region even more attractive for new investment, support job growth, and give manufacturers and small businesses alike a more reliable supply chain at a time when companies are looking to build and source domestically.
In everyday practice, it means ESS Industrial and similar companies can plan with confidence instead of having to adjust for delays – keeping projects on schedule and crews working instead of waiting around.
At the end of the day, this isn’t just about railroads or transportation infrastructure. It’s about whether South Carolina can keep its economic momentum going.
For those of us who depend on freight moving efficiently every day, a more modern and connected rail network is not a luxury. It’s a necessity.
Courtesy of South Carolina Daily Gazette
