Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern report solid profits as they make their case for their merger

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Both Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern delivered solid profits Thursday as the railroads continued to make the case for their proposed $85 billion merger.

Union Pacific wants to buy Norfolk Southern in a deal that would create the first transcontinental railroad. That deal faces a lengthy review by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board before the companies would be able to merger Union Pacific’s vast network in the West with Norfolk Southern’s operation in the Eastern United States.

The Omaha, Nebraska-based Union Pacific said it earned $1.79 billion, or $3.01 per share, in the quarter. That's up from $1.67 billion, or $2.75 per share, a year ago. And without $41 million in merger costs the railroad would have made $3.08 per share but either number would have beat the