Union Pacific Corp. agreed to acquire Norfolk Southern Corp. in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $85 billion, forming a transcontinental rail

The merger of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern would create a single, transcontinental railroad company for the first time in U.S. history.

On Tuesday, Union Pacific, which operates mostly in the Western U.S., announced that it would acquire Norfolk Southern, which operates in the East, for $85 billion. The deal would create the largest freight rail network in the country,

Union Pacific said on Tuesday it would buy smaller rival Norfolk Southern in an $85-billion deal to create the country's first coast-to-coast freight rail operator.