OAKLAND, Calif. — The Capital Corridor Joint Powers Authority, the agency overseeing state-supported Amtrak service between San Jose and Auburn, Calif., has filed its own suit over the plans for a new Oakland Athletics ballpark. The suit joins one previously filed by Union Pacific [see “Union Pacific files suit over Oakland ballpark plan,” Trains News […]
OAKLAND, Calif. — Union Pacific has filed suit against the city of Oakland and major-league baseball’s Oakland Athletics over a proposed ballpark and related mixed-use development near Jack London Square. The San Francisco Chronicle reports the railroad is challenging the project’s environmental analysis, saying in the suit filed in Alameda County Superior Court fails to […]
WASHINGTON — Ongoing service problems related to crew shortages on the U.S. Class I railroads are entirely self-inflicted due to the implementation of Precision Scheduled Railroading, the SMART Transportation Division labor union has told federal regulators. “The freight rail network is at a breaking point,” union President Jeremy Ferguson wrote in an April 1 letter […]
While thefts from Union Pacific intermodal trains in Los Angeles made national headlines early this year, overall cargo thefts last year decreased by 15% from 2020 levels, Insurance Journal reports, citing CargoNet’s annual Supply Chain Risk Trends report. The company, which provides cargo theft solutions, reported 1,285 cargo thefts in the United States and Canada, […]
A triple-headed shower wets down the hogs riding in Union Pacific triple-deck cars at Dry Lake, Nev., on a hot July day in 1977. The train is the California Livestock Special, bound for Los Angeles. Steve Patterson photo […]
WASHINGTON — The trade group representing grain producers says severe delays on BNSF Railway, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific have forced its members to shut down flour mills as well as feed mills that produce food for livestock. The National Grain and Feed Association outlined the rail service problems in a letter posted to the […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments today (Monday, March 28) on a case hinging on whether a locomotive is “in use” when it is not actually in motion. The SCOTUS Blog reports the case, LeDure vs. Union Pacific, involves former UP engineer Bradley LeDure, who suffered injuries when he fell […]
ROCKWELL, Iowa — Thirty-five cars of a Union Pacific grain train derailed in Iowa’s Cerro Gordo County, KIMT-TV reports. No injuries were reported. A Union Pacific representative told the station on Friday that the locomotives and railcars involved in the Thursday derailment had been cleared from the right-of-way, and track repairs were in progress. Restoration […]
OMAHA — Union Pacific will donate $500,000 to humanitarian relief in Ukraine, its largest-ever corporate donation for disaster relief, the company announced today. The funds will be split between the American Red Cross and Save the Children. The company had previously announced a 2-1 match for employee donations to six organizations providing direct support in […]
COLTON, Calif. — Three locomotives and 12 cars of a Union Pacific train derailed Monday morning, leading to a brief fire and a spill of diesel fuel from the locomotives. The derailment occurred near the Colton Flyover, where UP’s tracks cross those of BNSF Railway. The San Bernardino Sun reports the derailment occurred shortly after […]
WASHINGTON — Railroads and shipper groups squared off over a proposed reciprocal switching rule during a daylong Surface Transportation Board hearing on Tuesday, with railroads warning of dire operational consequences and sole-served shippers saying they needed relief from high rates and poor service. Federal regulators seemed sympathetic to shippers’ concerns but grappled with how they […]
WASHINGTON — The failure of an operator to stop a tie tamping machine — with the operator admitting he was in a panicked state because the machine did not appear to stop when he expected — led to the death of a track worker struck by the tamper, the National Transportation Safety Board determined in […]
