Board Sides With Union Pacific in Texas

Federal regulators declined to order Union Pacific Corp. to divest itself of assets in the Houston-Gulf Coast area, dismaying customers and rivals alike of the nation’s largest railroad operator. The Surface Transportation Board ordered a handful of “efficiency-producing changes” in Texas, sidestepping requests for more far-reaching action from critics who contend that Union Pacific’s monopoly on rail assets in the region is damaging. The board, which in 1996 approved the $5.4-billion merger of Union Pacific and Southern Pacific, said the permanent relief urged by a coalition comprising the state of Texas, shippers and rail rivals “would effectively undo the merger in the Houston area.” The STB granted new authority to dispatch trains over rivals’ track to facilitate movement of cars through the Houston terminal. It also directed Union Pacific to consult with the Port of Houston and Greater Houston Partnership on how to carry out its infrastructure improvements. Union Pacific executives, who had adamantly objected to proposals designed to lessen its grip on the Houston-Gulf Coast region, praised the STB decision.