Union Pacific is seeking to buy Norfolk Southern in a $85 billion deal that would create the first transcontinental railroad in the U.S.

Union Pacific said on July 29 that it had agreed to buy smaller rival Norfolk Southern for $85 billion, including debt, in a deal that would create the first transcontinental U.S. railroad.

The merger would create the United States’ first coast-to-coast rail network, spanning 50,000 miles and 43 states.