Looking at a network map of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, there’s a region of significant overlap in the Midwest, a triangular nexus between Kansas City, Chicago, and St. Louis. Chemical shippers in that region with a choice between the two railroads would lose their choice and be ‘captive’ to a single railroad, which could then wield monopolistic pricing power while allowing service to degrade.The letter raises concerns about the current state of the U.S. freight rail system, which is dominated by se ...