Union Pacific Filed Its Vena Recording Certification
Published: November 6, 2026
By: Adam Burns
Union Pacific on November 5 filed a verified statement that it has taken the confidential label off the recording of a March 17 address by chief executive V. James Vena and has given a redesignated copy to every party of record. The statement says that copy went out at 3:30 p.m. Eastern the same day. Decision No. 45, already reported as the order to release the recording, had set 5:00 p.m. Eastern on November 5 as the certification deadline. The filing is marked UP-127. The entered copy is dated November 5, 2026, and is marked part of the public record.
Union Pacific C41-8W #9523 leads empty hoppers westbound at North Platte, Nebraska in October, 1996. Warren Calloway photo.
What the certification says
The cover letter, signed by Michael L. Rosenthal of Covington & Burling, says the railroad is certifying that it redesignated the video of chief executive Jim Vena at the Southwest Association of Rail Shippers conference on March 17, 2026, by removing the Confidential label, and that it provided a redesignated copy to all parties of record. That letter ties the step to Ordering Paragraph 2 of Decision No. 45, served November 4, 2026. The verified statement uses the name V. James Vena. The cover letter says Jim Vena. Both forms are in the filing.
The statement says Union Pacific sent the redesignated copy by emailing a letter to all parties of record, with a link and with instructions for requesting another way to open the file. That party letter, Exhibit A, is signed by Kevin M. Kelly and is also dated November 5, 2026. It says the recording was first produced to the parties on October 1, 2026, and that the new copy drops the Confidential label, consistent with Decision No. 43 and Decision No. 45. The letter points parties to a secure folder. It also names a law-firm contact for anyone who cannot open that folder. This article does not print the folder address or that email.
A certificate of service by Molly Brown says that on November 5 the filing was served by first-class mail or email on all parties of record, the Secretary of Transportation, the Attorney General of the United States, and Administrative Law Judge Jenifer Soulikias. The cover letter copies the parties and the judge.
What this filing does not decide
The speech itself is not quoted here. The filing does not set a purchase price, and it does not decide whether the Norfolk Southern control case goes ahead. It is the certification Decision No. 45 required. It is not a new Board order finding that the certification was enough. The copy entered on November 5 is part of the public record. This filing does not say the recording has been posted on a company website.
The merger review itself remains the case covered in Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Merger Review Runs to 2027. A separate notice published November 6, about a Luzerne County operator change, is not this docket.
Related reading on American-Rails.com
- Video of the Vena Address Must Be Released
- Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Merger Review Runs to 2027
- Union Pacific Railroad: Map, History, Logo
- Rail News
Sources
- Union Pacific filing UP-127, entered November 5, 2026, part of the public record, Finance Docket No. FD 36873. Cover letter and verified statement of Michael L. Rosenthal. The cover letter says Jim Vena. The verified statement says V. James Vena. March 17, 2026, Southwest Association of Rail Shippers. Confidential label removed. Redesignated copy provided to all parties of record on November 5, 2026, at 3:30 p.m. ET, under Ordering Paragraph 2 of Decision No. 45, served November 4, 2026. Exhibit A letter of Kevin M. Kelly, same date. Recording first produced October 1, 2026. Certificate of service by Molly Brown to the parties of record, the Secretary of Transportation, the Attorney General of the United States, and Administrative Law Judge Jenifer Soulikias. The speech is not quoted here. The filing does not decide the merger.
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