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 […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific will begin using a higher percentage of biodiesel fuel in its Wabtec locomotives, the companies announced Tuesday, as part of its effort to increase its use of low-carbon fuels. On Wednesday, Wabtec and BNSF announced similar testing plans. Union Pacific will test the use of B20 biodiesel (20% biofuel) and […]
PITTSBURG, Texas — Cleanup continues after at least 20 cars of a Union Pacific train derailed Sunday afternoon in Pittburg, Texas. KLTV reports Pittsburgh Mayor David Abernathy said a train of more than 13,000 feet was involved, with two different portions derailing. No injuries were reported. KXTW-TV reports the accident occurred about 1 p.m., and […]
Bash Canadian Pacific Kansas City Day – otherwise known as Feb. 28, the deadline for comments on the CP-Kansas City Southern merger – has come and gone. What have we learned from the flurry of regulatory filings from other railroads, shippers, and lineside communities? The Class I railroads behaved like you’d expect: Following a tradition […]
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah bill which would require Union Pacific to use less-polluting locomotives in a Salt Lake City yard has been placed on hold at the request of the legislation’s sponsor, who says there have been “productive” conversations with the railroad. The Deseret News reports state Rep. Mike Schultz, the House majority […]
WASHINGTON — Union Pacific has asked federal regulators to ensure that a merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern does not undermine competition at the Laredo, Texas, gateway. Laredo, the most important Mexico border crossing, is where UP interchanges with KCS de Mexico and stands to lose traffic to the combined Canadian Pacific Kansas […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has clarified its decision allowing a Minnesota shipper’s complaint against Union Pacific — alleging the railroad had violated its common-carrier obligation by reducing service — saying it will consider granting relief only from the date of its original decision in November. Sanimax USA of South St Paul, Minn., processes […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Chicago-based track supervisor Lakish Vanzant has been named as the 2021 recipient of Union Pacific’s J.C. Kenefick Safety Award, the highest safety honor the company can award to an individual. Vanzant, honored for work in training, field-testing curriculum, and work-rule compliance intiatives, received the honor on Feb. 24 at the Union Pacific […]
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s legislature is moving to pass a law that would require Union Pacific to use yard locomotives powered “wholly by a hydrogen fuel cell or electric power” in Salt Lake City no later than Jan. 1, 2028 — despite the railroad’s contention that the bill mandates an action not yet technologically […]
