A Union Pacific Cold Connect produce train passes through Lombard, Ill. UP is adding to its refrigerator-car fleet.
TRAINS: David Lassen
SUN VALLEY, Idaho — Union Pacific will acquire 1,000 new refrigerator cars with the possibility of expanding the order to 1,600, a UP official told a recent shippers’ conference.
The Produce News reports that Brad Thrasher, UP’s vice president and general manager, agricultural products marketing, made the announcement Aug. 29 at the Idaho Grower Shipper Association convention. At a cost of $250,000 each, the purchase will constitute the largest railcar acquisition in company history, the publication reported.
UP has made produce service a priority since its 2017 purchase of Railex, a refrigerated food and beverage logistics company, offering five-day-a-week expedited produce service from Washington and California to New York.
