OMAHA, Neb. – Union Pacific says the results of the Federal Railroad Administration’s focused inspections of its freight cars and locomotives raised more questions than answers.
“Typically, inspections by the FRA include a focused audit close out with clear findings and action steps, as well as a meeting to discuss any findings and mitigation approaches,” CEO Jim Vena wrote in a letter to FRA Administrator Amit Bose today. “Our team has not received an audit close out, which will help us more quickly address the issues raised. While a more detailed response will be forthcoming, given the significance of your concerns, I wanted to provide a prompt response addressing the immediate actions we are taking and items we are evaluating.”
The FRA inspections of UP, conducted in July and August, found mechanical defects at rates that were twice as high as the national average. Bose outlined the results of the inspections in a letter to UP executives on Friday, which said the railroad’s inspection practices posted a safety threat. Bose also asked whether recent mechanical department furloughs played a role in what he called the poor condition of UP rolling stock.
“More than 1,000 items can be considered a defect on a locomotive, ranging from something minor that has less impact on the mechanical safety of a locomotive, such as an amnesty lock on a bathroom door, to higher impact ones like a high flange wheel,” Vena wrote. “We are eager to understand the types and categories of the defects cited, as well as the ratio of the percentage of defects.”
The number of locomotives inspected by the FRA represents 10% of those in North Platte and about 1% of Union Pacific’s overall fleet, UP said.
Vena insisted that UP’s fleet remained safe to operate and that the railroad would never compromise on safety. He also said that there was no correlation between recent furloughs of mechanical shop employees and UP’s ability to maintain cars and locomotives.
“The furloughs across our system are the result of lower business volumes, which result in equipment storage, and represent a fraction of a percent of all craft employees,” Vena wrote. “Union Pacific’s Mechanical employee-to-car and locomotive ratios are in line with our own long-term trend, as well as those across the industry.”
Vena also explained why UP officials at Bailey Yard in North Platte, Neb., asked FRA inspectors to leave the East Departure Yard, which had been paralyzed by the intensive inspection.
“When unscheduled audits occur in railyards, it is standard procedure to work with FRA inspectors to ensure the location of the inspections doesn’t cause safety risks for inspectors or employees, or create service interruptions for our customers,” Vena wrote. “We are proud of the professional relationships our managers have with local federal inspectors, and it is very common at a location like North Platte to ask the inspection team to go to a different part of the yard if inspections are becoming impactful to service or placing the inspectors at risk.”
Vena noted that North Platte has four yards where inspections can take place, and it was typical for railroad officials to coordinate inspection locations with the FRA inspectors.
“As we await the standard audit close-out documentation, our teams are already working to identify any potential gaps in our daily repair process,” Vena wrote. “We plan to review those findings, as well as actions we’re taking to close any identified gaps, during our October meeting. We take the FRA’s concerns very seriously and look forward to meeting in person to discuss them.”
Vena, who served as UP’s chief operating officer in 2019 and 2020, became the railroad’s chief executive on Aug. 14.
Bose’s letter to UP executives came three days after the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg regarding its response to train derailments and near-misses involving airlines. The committee asked DOT to provide documents related to “efforts to investigate and remediate these issues to protect the safety of all Americans.”
The FRA’s letter to UP also came just a day after the safety agency issued an advisory urging railroads to take action when wheel impact detectors flag wheels that pose a safety risk. The advisory was prompted by the derailment of a UP coal train that included several cars that had previously set off wheel impact detectors. The derailment was likely caused when the impact of one of the defective wheels broke a track bolt, the FRA said.
Note: Updated at 11:03 a.m. on Sept. 12 with new information from Union Pacific, which corrects an error in its letter to the FRA regarding the percentage of locomotives inspected at North Platte and out of its overall fleet.
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