Splitting up UP

Could the UP-SP and possibly UP-CNW mergers be undone (as some have suggested)? And if something like that really were to happen, would the old companies resurface or would some other railroad (BNSF, CN) just jump in and take over the spin-offs?

Could it be? Well, I guess anything's possible. Will it be? Not bloody likely! While I'll never say never, I can't begin to imagine such a scenario playing out. All I can think of is for another company (hmmm...Microsoft, maybe? I guess they have the cash on hand...) would have to buy a controlling interest, then decide to sell off portions to the highest bidders to recover the investment.

I repeat -- not bloody likely.

The former corporations (SP, D&RGW, MP, CNW, etc.) that went into the current UP were effectively merged out of existence. They live on only as trademarks and reporting initials (and railfan dreams and fantasies).

I agree with LCJ.

A break-up would only occur for two reasons, involuntary and voluntary.

If the federal government engaged a long and protracted anti-trust suit, and if UP was found to conduct significant anti-comptitive activity, some action would be required. This is extremely remote in concept, and the remedy would more likely be provisions for trackage rights or other methods for more equal access to major customers.

A voluntary breakup is typically undertaken when parts of a company are worth more separated than together. As the primarly activity of UP is rail transportation, it would be a tough suggestion that geographic or business units could operate more efficiently if they were separated

LET SP BE SP..............

There would be the issue of multiple lines being "rationalized" and how to "unrationalize" them, i.e. putting back torn up parallel routes.

Odds are that many of the railroads that went into the current Class 1's would not have survived on their own, long term. Sure, I don't like it either but I think that's the way it is (or was).

My perspective really changed after I read the books "Merging Lines" and "Main Lines." Highly recommended, they are scholarly and quite even-handed. Most large libraries should have them or can get them; I know the Rochester (NY) Central Library does since I checked each out three or four times before Getting My Own Darn Copies.

What about in the 1980s with the Bell Buster judge and the Baby Bells. Standard Oil (Esso in Canada, Exxon Moble in U.S. of A) as split up as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_bells

I've never heard of anyone proclaiming UP as a target for trust-busting or retraint of trade actions, a la AT&T and Standard Oil.

Hey -- I'll gladly admit to being wrong about this, but I wouldn't wager much on an imposed split of UP into smaller components (and most certainly not during a Republican administration where the VP used to be on the UP Board of Directors!) -- and I can't imagine that the shareholders would ever be in favor doing it voluntarily.

But then, I bought shares of Lucent just before it crashed...so don't take my financial expertise as being rock solid!

I think UP is too big but I doubt they will split up. However, all the class 1's are trying to shed milage so they can focus on the traffic where they make money, like coal and intermodal. A lot of spin-off companies are buying up the branch lines and making them successful.

UP may be too big, but they also seem to be rather slow at selling off lines (though NS has really slowed down as wel).

We're also forgetting another reason UP won't ever be broken up - it's not big enough of a "marketing target" for a politician. In other words, how many votes would a guy get for breaking up a railroad most households don't directly deal with, other than waiting for a train at a crossing. Breaking up Microsoft, AT&T, or Standard Oil is different, as it's a big marketing target - many people are familiar with these three, and probably feel these three are ripping them off but there's nothing to be done because there isn't much competition.

It's a similar situation with Amtrak - killing Amtrak now won't really save us much money, but it's a great marketing target, as most people know what Amtrak is, and many ride Amtrak. It's a visible target, so it's in play in Washington.

Take a look at their board of directors as well, both present and former, and I am sure they would have no problem influencing those officials in the government to look the other way if someone in the governement tried to break up UP.