Union Pacific OMAHA, Neb. — Canadian National veteran Jim Vena hasn’t yet finished his second week as Union Pacific’s new chief operating officer and he already sees some low-hanging fruit that’s ready for harvest. Expect to see UP begin running longer trains this year — and building the extended sidings to necessary to handle them. […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific reported record net profits for the fourth quarter and full year on Thursday and said that its new Precision Scheduled Railroading operating plan would help it reduce costs, improve service, and boost traffic volume. Executives said they expect UP to reduce its operating ratio to below 61 percent this year […]
A schedule for Big Boy 4014’s first operations should be out in February. Trains: Jim Wrinn OMAHA, Neb. — The wait for Big Boy 4014’s first operating schedule got a little shorter or a little longer, depending on how soon you want to make travel plans. On Wednesday, the Union Pacific Steam Club, a new […]
The 2018 Cheyenne Frontier Days Train accelerates out of Greeley, Colo., in July. Trains: Jim Wrinn DENVER — The last annual steam-powered mainline excursion train in the U.S. is no more. On Monday, the Denver Post said the train Denver-Cheyenne, Wyo., train has come to the end of the line. “While we have enjoyed our […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific will report a record-low operating ratio for 2018 thanks to an unexpected combination of lower costs and strong traffic volume in December, the railroad said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday. On Nov. 29, UP warned that it did not expect an improvement in its full-year operating ratio due to […]
A UP freight derailed Wednesday in Texas, narrowly missing a house. Ed Miller AUBREY, Texas — A Union Pacific freight train that derailed in Aubrey, Texas, Wednesday morning, narrowly missed a trackside house. CBS station DFW reports that one locomotive and six cars derailed and remained upright. Seven other cars left the tracks and overturned […]
Jim Vena, Union Pacific Chief Operating Officer Canadian National OMAHA, Neb. — Jim Vena is Union Pacific’s $9 billion man. No, that’s not how much Vena will earn as the railroad’s new chief operating officer. Under the terms of his contract, he’ll earn a base salary of $600,000 and will be eligible for an annual […]
Jim Vena, Union Pacific chief operating officer Canadian National OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific has named former Canadian National executive Jim Vena as its chief operating officer, effectively putting a protege of E. Hunter Harrison in charge of its transition to Precision Scheduled Railroading. Vena, 60, served as CN’s chief operating officer from February 2013 […]
A Union Pacific train threads its way through construction at Vale, in River Forest, Ill., where the railroad is building a 1.8-mile section of third track. David Lassen MARCO ISLAND, Fla. – One of the annual limitations of the early January date for the the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association Conference is that most […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific says its new operating plan continues to gain traction. “Since September, overall operating inventory has been reduced by 10 percent, car velocity is up 7 percent, and dwell is down 10 percent, all of which indicate we’re moving your freight faster,” Kenny Rocker, the railroad’s executive vice president of marketing […]
President Bush’s body is loaded aboard the train for the trip to College Station. Sol Tucker HOUSTON – The U.S. rail industry shined in the bright lights of the public eye in a way not seen in almost 50 years on Dec. 6, as a special Union Pacific passenger train carried the remains of former […]
Behind six units, an eastbound Z-train flies through historic downtown Laramie, Wyo., on June 7, 2018, exactly 150 years to the day that Union Pacific tracks reached the town named for French-Canadian fur trader Jacques La Ramee. Bill Stephens OMAHA, Neb. — More of Union Pacific’s intermodal trains will operate daily, up from five or […]
