Union Pacific Corp. agreed to acquire Norfolk Southern Corp. in a $72 billion cash-and-stock transaction, forming the only US transcontinental railroad in what stands to be the industry’s largest deal ever.

The deal would create the first transcontinental railroad in the United States worth more than $200 billion, combining Union Pacific’s rail network in the West with Norfolk’s rails that snake

The move would create America's first coast-to-coast freight railway and involves two of the biggest players in the US rail industry.