Union Pacific wants to buy Norfolk Southern in a $85 billion deal that would create the first transcontinental railroad in the U.S, and potentially trigger a final wave of rail mergers across the country.

Union Pacific is seeking to buy Norfolk Southern in a deal valued at $85 billion in a merger that could trigger the final wave of railroad mergers across the country.

The $85 billion deal announced on Tuesday would create the nation's first coast-to-coast freight rail operator and reshape the movement of goods from grains to autos across the U.S., which are issues ...