The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Canadian National Railway and Union Pacific (UP) have struck a deal that ends CN's opposition to UP's $85-billion (U.S.) merger with Norfolk Southern. A Canadian Press dispatch to The Globe reports that in exchange for supporting the merger, CN will gain more network access in the U.S. Midwest. UP, the second-largest railway operator in the United States, announced last July it wants to buy the fourth-largest -- Norfolk Southern -- in a deal that would create that country's first transcontinental railway and potentially trigger a final wave of rail mergers across North America. Rivals and customers worry the merger would cost customers and place unprecedented market power in the hands of a single railway, which would handle some 40 per cent of American freight traffic. UP and Norfolk Southern argue that getting hitched would slash costs and prompt rivals to lower their rates to compete. "I said from Day 1 that our merger will create a stronger railroad industry that delivers better service for customers. Our agreement with CN reinforces those commitments," said UP chief executive officer Jim Vena, who worked at CN for decades before joining its bigger rival.