Despite a snow squall that snarled traffic and shut down Chicago’s airports for a couple of hours, the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers (MARS) opened its 2026 Winter Meeting with more than 1,100 registered attendees. Always an interesting forum, this year’s meeting took place soon after Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern filed their merger application. To say the proposed merger dominated the discussion is an understatement. MARS met all expectations with speakers from four of the six Class I’s.* Keith Creel, President and CEO of CPKC, opened the conference pointing out that the bar the proposed merger is projecting may be difficult to achieve. “The devil is in the details,” he said. Creel noted that if 20% of traffic can be improved, the other 80% of shippers should ask how it will benefit them. “Is it worth it to benefit just 20%?” he asked. He encouraged rail customers to carefully consider what is at stake in the proposed merger. “Are we creating something that is too big to fail? That is what you have to ask yourself,” he said, urging stakeholders “to make their perspectives heard before the Surface Transportation Board. “Raise your voices,” encouraging the shippers to speak up as to what they need in relationship as to what the proposed merger would provide. CPKC graphic Katie Farmer, President and CEO BNSF, joined the conference for a “fireside chat” that had an expectedly major focus on the proposed merger. Farmer pointed out that the projected growth rate of the…
