Big Railroad Stocks Gain Steam On Merger Rumor

Several major U.S. rail companies gained steam Monday on news that two of the sector's biggest players are mulling a merger. CSX Corp.

the nation's third-largest rail carrier, reportedly wants to acquire the sixth-ranked and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.

, although a deal is far from certain. The proposal would link CSX's rail network in the Midwest and eastern U.S., with Canadian Pacific's access to oil fields in the Dakotas and Alberta. Apart from the two purported merger partners, biggest gainers in the group Monday included fourth-ranked Norfolk Southern Corp.

focused on the the Southeast, East, and Midwest. Norfolk, with revenue last year of $3.04 billion, gained 2.7 percent trading at $105.09 a share Monday. Kansas City Southern

, ranked seventh by its $2.37 billion in revenue, runs freight from Canada to Mexico and operates the Panama Canal railway. Shares were up nearly 2 percent Monday at $114.44 a share. Top-ranked Union Pacific Corp.

with revenue of $21.9 billion and which operates mostly west of the Mississippi, fell more than 1 percent Monday. The nation's number two railroad with around $17 billion in revenue, Burlington Northern and Santa Fe, is a unit of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

and not separately traded.