Opinion: Southern ports keep America moving. Don’t let a rail merger slow Alabama down.

The South’s railways keep America’s economy in motion, transporting a significant share of our nation’s energy exports, agricultural goods, and automotive freight across the nation and to the Gulf ports.

They are the backbone of our region’s industrial success and the critical link between America’s producers and the fast-growing Gulf Coast ports that anchor U.S. trade, and the economic benefits that come from a strong, resilient supply chain.

But even the most effective systems can falter under massive mergers.

In November, two of the nation’s largest freight railroads, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, announced their intent to merge, creating a singular rail network that would control roughly 40 percent of all U.S. freight rail.

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