UP-NS Merger Impact Analysis for STB Proceedings

Location:	Illinois
Posted:	Sep 2, 2026
Due:	Sep 14, 2026
Agency:	City of Decatur
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	B - Special Studies and Analyses - Not R&D
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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INVITATION TO BID

CITY OF DECATUR

PURCHASING DIVISION - 1ST FLOOR

#1 GARY K. ANDERSON PLAZA

DECATUR, ILLINOIS 62523

217.424.2762

BID TITLE: UP–NS Merger Impact Analysis for STB Proceedings

BID DATE AND TIME: AUGUST 28, 2026 & ACCEPTED UNTIL

SEPTEMBER 9, 2026, 10:00 A.M. (CST)

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

UP–NS Merger Impact Analysis for STB Proceedings

City of Decatur, Illinois

NOTICE TO BIDDERS

Request for Proposal

The City of Decatur, IL is seeking one prime firm for the analysis necessary to support an effective STB merits

comment filing and mitigation request commensurate with documented impacts. The prime firm will manage and

integrate all work streams and will serve as a single point of contact, manage all subconsultants, and deliver one

integrated work product.

Proposals will be accepted until 10:00 a.m., Central Standard Time, on September 9, 2026, at the City of

Decatur, Purchasing & Internal Services Division, #1 Gary K. Anderson Plaza, Decatur, Illinois, 62523.

All bids must be marked in the bottom left-hand corner with the following: "SEALED BID FOR UP-NS

MERGER IMPACT ANALYSIS FOR STB PROCEEDINGS”.

Late proposals will not be accepted under any circumstances. Any proposal(s) received after the scheduled time for

closing will not be considered. Sole responsibility rests with the proposing firm to see that its proposal is received on

time.

The Council of the City of Decatur, Illinois reserves the right to accept, renegotiate or reject any or all proposals and

to waive any variance from the requirements of the instruction for bidders. The Council further reserves the right to

award the contract to the bidder which, in the opinion of Council, will best serve the public interest, and the criteria

listed herein shall be subordinate to the discretion of Council with regard there to. At the discretion of the Council,

required items may be submitted after the bid opening if there is sufficient compliance with instructions at the time of

the bid opening to permit the City to determine the price bid.

Illinois Human Rights Act applies.

For a complete copy of the request for proposal contact

ShamRA Robinson, PhD, Deputy City Manager at

srobinson@decaturil.gov

City of Decatur

Kelly Harrison

Procurement Officer

August 25, 2026

Signed: SHAMRA ROBINSON, PhD

Date: August 25, 2026

1. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The City of Decatur, Illinois seeks to retain a multidisciplinary consulting team to develop the technical record

necessary to support the City's formal filings in the Surface Transportation Board's review of the proposed Union

Pacific–Norfolk Southern merger (STB Docket No. FD 36873) and to document the factual basis for Decatur-

specific mitigation requests.

The STB accepted the revised merger application on May 28, 2026. UP and NS were required to file supplemental

information by July 27, 2026, after which the STB will issue a merits comment schedule. The City of Decatur filed

Notices of Participation. A separate discovery order (Decision No. 24, June 18, 2026) is now in effect; discovery-

related tasks will be coordinated through the City's separately retained STB legal counsel.

The merger poses documented, quantifiable impacts on Decatur. The NS merger plan projects a reduction of

approximately 161 cars per day through the Decatur flat yard. The NS locomotive shop — a significant source of

railroad employment in the community — faces potential relocation or consolidation. Major industrial shippers

including ADM and Caterpillar face reduced rail competition and captive shipper exposure. At-grade crossings

throughout the city create emergency response, safety, and mobility risks that may be exacerbated by changes in

train operations.

The scope of this RFP is deliberately focused: the City seeks only the analysis necessary to support an effective STB

merits comment filing and a mitigation request commensurate with documented impacts. Work products that serve

primarily public communication, long-range planning, or grant development purposes are outside this scope. Those

needs will be addressed separately.

The City is seeking one prime firm to manage and integrate all workstreams. The prime firm serves as single point

of contact, manages all subconsultants, and delivers one integrated work product. The City will not manage multiple

separate consultant relationships for this engagement.

The City will conduct this procurement as a Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS) process: proposals will be ranked

on qualifications alone, with cost proposals opened and negotiated only after ranking, consistent with the federal

Brooks Act (40 U.S.C. §§1101-1104). Act exempts home rule units. The City is adopting this approach as a matter

of policy to preserve maximum flexibility should federal funding become available for this or related work in the

future.

Issuing Authority

Docket Reference

RFP Coordinator

Issue Date

Questions Deadline

Proposals Due

Anticipated Award

Procurement Method

Estimated Budget

Delivery

City of Decatur, Illinois

STB Docket No. FD 36873 — UP–NS Control Transaction

Ann L. Schneider & Associates LLC (on behalf of the City)

August 28, 2026

September 3, 2026

September 9, 2026, 10:00 AM CDT

September/ Early October 2026

Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS) — cost is not a factor in the

qualifications ranking; see Section 6

$75,000 – $125,000 (analysis only; legal counsel procured separately)

The City of Decatur, Illinois, respectfully requests sealed proposals from

interested, qualified firms to provide the following professional services to

the City of Decatur.

2. SCOPE OF WORK

The prime firm shall deliver an integrated Decatur Merger Impact Analysis covering three analytical workstreams

and one integration and filing support workstream. All work products must be suitable for submission to the STB

and must meet the evidentiary standards applicable in STB merger proceedings. Plain-language summaries for City

leadership are a secondary output, not the primary product.

Workstream 1 — Rail Operations and Network Analysis

Objective: Establish the factual record on projected changes in NS and UP rail operations through Decatur that will

result from the merger, sufficient to support STB comments and mitigation requests on crossings, yard operations,

locomotive shop functions, and service reliability.

■ Establish current baseline NS rail operations through Decatur: train counts by corridor and direction, train

lengths, flat yard car volume (current versus projected), locomotive shop activity levels, and at-grade crossing

gate-down durations at key crossings — using available STB-filed data, FRA crossing inventory data, NS

operating data obtained through STB discovery, and City or DUATS records where relevant

■ Review and assess the 2013 Decatur Area Transportation Efficiency Study (DATES) RTC rail simulation

model: determine whether the RTC network model built for that study — which includes NS, CN, and CSX

operating data and simulates the Decatur area network — can be updated with current operating data as the

baseline for this analysis, or whether a new baseline model must be built; document the approach in the

technical proposal

■ Establish updated at-grade crossing baseline data for priority NS crossings in the Brush College Road

corridor — focusing on the ADM East Plant crossing and any remaining at-grade crossings — using current

FRA crossing inventory records, field observation, and NS operating data from STB discovery. Note: a grade

separation has been constructed at Brush College Road and Faries Parkway since the 2013 DATES study; the

analysis should document current conditions at the remaining crossings and assess whether the merger

operating plan affects the adequacy of the completed grade separation or changes operating conditions

beyond those it was designed to accommodate

■ Assess whether the merger's projected changes in NS flat yard and switching activity affect the second, not-

yet-constructed segment of the Brush College Road corridor plan — an overpass proposed a few blocks south

of Faries Parkway over an NS-owned rail yard, intended to replace a functionally obsolete underpass — and

note any implications for that project's design assumptions, justification, or timing (per the City's Brush

College Road / Faries Parkway grade separation grant application)

■ Analyze the merger operating plan as filed and as supplemented by the July 27, 2026 UP/NS filing: document

the projected approximately 161-car-per-day flat yard volume reduction, its operational basis, and its

implications for yard staffing and local service

■ Evaluate locomotive shop scenarios: reconcile against the redesignated Employee Impact Exhibits

(Appendices A and B to Applicants' Amended Application, filed July 27, 2026), which report Decatur-

specific position changes by craft and management category across the three operating scenarios Applicants

filed; identify functions at risk of relocation or consolidation, trigger conditions, and the timeline implied by

the merger operating plan

■ Model projected changes in train volumes, lengths, and routing on the Decatur–Kansas City corridor (ex-

Wabash, approximately 404 miles) under the merger plan, with reference to at least one alternative routing or

operating scenario from the STB application

■ Model crossing gate-down frequency and duration at priority Decatur crossings under projected merger traffic

conditions, compared to current baseline — focus on crossings affecting emergency response corridors and

major arterials

■ Identify switching, dispatching, or interlocking changes affecting local industry rail access and assess

implications for shipper service reliability

Note: The Decatur Area Transportation Efficiency Study (DUATS, December 2013) is available as

background context on the local transportation network and may assist proposers in understanding

crossing geography and freight patterns. It does not constitute current baseline data for STB purposes and

should not be relied upon as a primary source. Proposers should identify what current data — including

STB-filed waybill data, FRA crossing inventory records, and NS operating timetables — they propose to

use to establish the current baseline.

Workstream 2 — Economic and Employment Impact Analysis

Objective: Quantify the direct economic and employment consequences of the merger for city of Decatur, focused

on the harms most directly traceable to the merger operating plan and suitable for inclusion in STB comments.

■ Quantify current NS railroad employment in Decatur by facility (flat yard, locomotive shop, other functions)

and craft category; estimate total compensation and direct supplier spending in the local economy as an

economic baseline

■ Model employment changes across Decatur NS/UP facilities (flat yard, locomotive shop, train crew,

management, and other craft categories) under the merger operating plan: reconcile the analysis against the

redesignated Employee Impact Exhibits (Appendices A and B to Applicants' Amended Application, filed July

27, 2026), which report positions abolished, created, and transferred by location and craft/management

category for each of the three operating scenarios Applicants filed; distinguish merger-attributable changes

from pre-existing trends, and document timing and implementation assumptions

■ Calculate direct and indirect economic impacts of projected employment changes on Decatur using an input-

output or comparable econometric model; include estimated effects on the City tax base

■ Assess captive shipper rate exposure for major Decatur industrial shippers: document the reduction in

competitive rail options resulting from the merger and estimate the potential pricing impact — this analysis is

intended for STB submission and should follow methodologies recognized in STB rate and competition

proceedings

■ Scope is limited to impacts directly traceable to the merger. Long-range economic development forecasting,

industrial recruitment analysis, and property value modeling are outside this scope

Note: The redesignated Employee Impact Exhibits show a mixed picture for Decatur, IL specifically, not a

uniform net job loss: for example, the NS Mechanical Locomotive craft data show positions transferred

(not abolished) in two of the three filed scenarios and none in the third, while Train Crew data show net

position increases in all three scenarios, and NS Management Operating data show a small reduction in

only one of three scenarios. Proposers should not assume net job losses at Decatur facilities without

analyzing the full exhibit data, and should identify what each of the three numbered scenarios represents —

that labeling is not provided in the public exhibits and may need to be sought through discovery.

This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.

Bid Title:	UP-NS Merger Impact Analysis for STB Proceedings - Request for Proposal
Category:	General City Bids
Status:	Open

UP-NS Merger Impact Analysis for STB Proceedings - Request for Proposal

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