Union Pacific plans to end container embargo after one week

LOS ANGELES — Union Pacific will resume international container shipments to Chicago from the West Coast at the end of its current seven-day suspension of such service, CEO Lance Fritz told Reuters on Thursday. “We’re starting to see containers clear, so I anticipate in the seven-day period … we should get back down to a […]

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Union Pacific reports record financial results

Train rounds curve in late afternoon sunlight

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific reported record financial results on Thursday, including new marks for operating income, net income, earnings per share, and operating ratio. “We pulled all three profitability levers simultaneously: volume, price, and productivity,” CEO Lance Fritz told investors and analysts on the railroad’s earnings call. The railroad improved its outlook and now expects […]

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News photo: Rocky Mountainteer test run in Colorado

Two yellow locomotives leading blue, gold, and white passenger cars

ARVADA, Colo. — Two leased Union Pacific locomotives lead a Rocky Mountaineer trainset through Arvada on Tuesday as the train made the fourth of eight test trips for familiarizing crews and onboard employees before the launch of the company’s new “Rockies to Red Rocks” service between Denver and Moab, Utah. The locomotives have been leased […]

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BNSF restricts flow of containers from LA and Long Beach to Chicago

Container train passing under bridge

  FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway is limiting the flow of international containers from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to its Logistics Park Chicago intermodal terminal for two weeks to work off a backlog of boxes that have built up in the Windy City. “BNSF is metering traffic from the West Coast […]

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‘Starlight’ saga: Sales stopped while previous reservation holders are contacted

Passenger train stopped at station platform

LOS ANGELES — Amtrak’s Coast Starlight began operating as Los Angeles-Sacramento, Calif., and Seattle-Klamath Falls, Ore., sections linked by an overnight bus ride as of Friday, July 16, but travelers haven’t been able to make new reservations, even on the unaffected parts of the route. The Seattle-Klamath Falls portion had been dropped after a wildfire […]

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Flooding triggers derailment, shutting down Union Pacific line in Utah (updated)

Map showing location of UP washout

MILFORD, Utah — A derailment caused by flooding has added to the operational issues being faced by Union Pacific. The railroad informed customers on Friday that washouts resulting from flooding south of Milford, Utah, have shut down its route between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City — washouts that led to the derailment of a […]

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Fires disrupting CN, CP in British Columbia, UP in California

Canadian National logo

Canadian National and Canadian Pacific main lines in British Columbia are once again both shut down because of wildfires. Meanwhile, in California, Union Pacific is also experiencing additional fire-related disruptions. Container shipper Hapag-Lloyd informed customers on Thursday that CN and CP have halted operations east of Lytton at the request of the B.C. Wildfire Service, […]

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Western railroads struggle with off-rail intermodal supply chain problems

RochelleGlobal3

CHICAGO — Union Pacific may temporarily reopen its idled Global III intermodal terminal in Rochelle, Ill., to help relieve congestion at its Global IV terminal in Joliet, Ill. UP informed customers Wednesday it will temporarily halt shipments of international containers from all West Coast ports to its Global IV terminal for up to a week, […]

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Union Pacific suspends inbound international container shipments to Chicago for a week

Stack train under dramatic clouds

OMAHA, Neb. – In the latest pandemic-related disruption, Union Pacific has told customers it will halt all shipments of international containers from West Coast ports to its Global IV terminal in Chicago for up to a week. The embargo, scheduled to begin on Sunday night, will help the railroad clear a container backlog at Global […]

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