While hedge funds wring savings from other Class 1 railroads, Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena says his line can win new business with service and “operational excellence.”
The Biden administration is calling railroad executives to Washington to explain how they plan to reverse negative cargo trends and grow their business.
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against Union Pacific, stating that plaintiff Le’Mon Bass failed to substantiate claims of racial discrimination and retaliation.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has reopened the international border crossings at Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, according to the freight railroads affected by the five-day closure.
Union Pacific wants customers to lobby Congress to get U.S. Customs and Border Protection to say when suspended freight rail operations in El Paso and Eagle Pass, Texas, will resume.
In this fireside chat, FreightWaves’ chief economist Anthony Smith talks with Union Pacific’s Matt Gloeb about how collaboration between the railroad and truck carriers in the intermodal space can help customers reach sustainability goals.
The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way – Employes Division is continuing to express its disappointment over planned furloughs at Union Pacific. But UP insists that it will call back furloughed employees as the railway pursues rail service and safety goals.
Union Pacific is seeking to beef up its intermodal offerings via a terminal in Phoenix and the addition of destinations for its on-dock rail service at Port Houston.
Executives with CSX, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern at recent investor conferences listed some of the ways they expect to improve rail service.
On his first earnings call as Union Pacific’s CEO, Jim Vena said his goal for the railway is to “win and be the best in the industry.”
Lower revenues dented Union Pacific’s earnings for the third quarter of 2023.
Union Pacific will be offering intermodal service between two cities in Mexico and the U.S. Southeast.
U.S. intermodal volumes actually grew in September, according to the Association of American Railroads. And with the harvest season in full swing in the fourth quarter, expect rising grain volumes.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a lawsuit against Union Pacific in federal court over the dismissal of 21 conductors and locomotive engineers who had failed the railroad’s vision test.
Expanded service offerings, such as a reduction in transit time for the Falcon Premium intermodal service, should help support Union Pacific in the third and fourth quarters, UP leaders said at an investor conference this week.
Union Pacific is asking the Federal Railroad Administration for more details on the safety defects that federal inspectors reportedly found during focused inspections this summer.
Union Pacific plans to respond this week to concerns of Federal Railroad Administration Administrator Amit Bose that the railroad is being cavalier in ensuring its locomotives are safe.
A decline in rail volumes has led Union Pacific to store locomotives — which in turn has led to furloughs of at least 94 employees, according to a union official.
Union Pacific is seeking to bring operations back to normal at two of its California subdivisions that were hit by Tropical Storm Hilary.
Union Pacific’s Mojave and Yuma subdivisions are out of service due to high waters and mud over the tracks caused by Tropical Storm Hilary; electrical outages at some terminals are also impacting operations.
What will Union Pacific look like once incoming CEO Jim Vena assumes the role later this month? That’s the question industry stakeholders have been wondering.
New sick leave agreements and other deals will increase Union Pacific’s labor costs. Investors on UP’s second-quarter 2023 earnings call wanted to know by how much.
Former Union Pacific and CN executive Jim Vena will be UP’s next CEO, while sustainability and strategy EVP Beth Whited has been promoted to president.
Union Pacific will expand the utility role in Nebraska and Colorado and make it more responsive to train movements.
The Surface Transportation Board will look into whether freight rail operations are affecting the on-time performance of Amtrak’s passenger rail service between New Orleans and Los Angeles.
Union Pacific and the union representing train conductors have reached a sick leave agreement.
Passenger rail advocates call for swift action to resolve Amtrak’s substandard on-time performance for its Sunset Limited service. But freight rail supporters say better data is needed to assess what the problems are.
Union Pacific and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen have reached a deal that will provide locomotive engineers with up to seven days of paid sick leave.
Union Pacific’s expanded service allows ocean carriers and BCOs to utilize on-dock rail at the Barbours Cut Container Terminal at Port Houston.
Union Pacific and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen have struck a deal that addresses how train engineers might have a better work-life balance.
Union Pacific wants a federal court to review STB’s approval of the merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern.
Union Pacific, BNSF and Norfolk Southern need to go further in improving rail service, according to a Surface Transportation Board decision requiring the railroads to submit service performance reports.
The California Air Resources Board has passed a regulation that compels freight and locomotive operators in California to adopt technologies to reduce locomotive emissions and phase out diesel locomotives.
Not to be outdone by CPKC, CN said it is partnering with Union Pacific and Grupo México to provide a new, cross-continent intermodal service that will seek more truck-to-rail conversions.
Union Pacific’s earnings guidance for the year is based on the assumption that a recession won’t occur, officials said during the railroad’s first-quarter 2023 earnings call Thursday.
Trammell Crow and CBRE Investment Management have acquired 192 acres in Arizona and are seeking companies interested in developing facilities on their rail-served site.
Union Pacific will hold off on plans to redeploy the train conductor from the locomotive cab to grounds-based work, according to a tentative agreement between UP and SMART-TD.
A roundup of recent news items from Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, Amtrak and the Surface Transportation Board.
Union Pacific confirmed that CEO Lance Fritz will be leaving his role. The railroad is looking for a replacement.
Union Pacific reached sick leave agreements with the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers and the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen over the weekend.
The Surface Transportation Board recently took action on Union Pacific’s use of embargoes in the Midwest and rejected the Class I railroads’ request to delay a program related to smaller rate disputes.
On Union Pacific’s list of resolutions for 2023 are plans to improve rail service, enhance quality of life for craft employees and achieve productivity gains, according to executives on the railroad’s fourth-quarter 2022 earnings call Tuesday.
Eight U.S. representatives from Iowa and Minnesota want the Surface Transportation Board to require Union Pacific to fix service issues and lift weather-related embargoes in the region.
Union Pacific’s proposed testing of one-person crews is on hold because the program can’t proceed without negotiations between the railroad and affected union members.
The Surface Transportation Board wants Union Pacific to address service hiccups at California’s Foster Farms. Also, CN reports rail traffic controllers have ratified a new collective agreement.
Following last week’s hearing on embargoes before the Surface Transportation Board, Union Pacific has decided to pause the program. Meanwhile, the board is considering what it can do to encourage rail volume growth.
STB Chairman Marty Oberman told UP it didn’t provide enough information on its embargo practices ahead of a two-day hearing next week.
Union Pacific executives said it wasn’t precision scheduled railroading but running the network too tightly that brought on the service issues.
Wabtec and Progress Rail selected as suppliers
Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: The TexAmericas Center looks to expand its rail transload business; Mexico’s exports of commercial trucks fell 11.3% in September; Bridgestone completes a $100 million expansion in Mexico, creating 150 jobs; and a cold storage facility is set for Southern California.
Elise Gosch, assistant VP of intermodal sales at Union Pacific, shares strategies the company has implemented throughout the pandemic to address shifting customer needs.
Reducing dwell times for equipment and at the terminals is one way the Class I railroads are seeking to relieve systemwide supply chain congestion, according to executives at recent investor conferences.
Adding or extending sidings, particularly on three key routes, will reduce delays and improve network fluidity, UP said.
Union Pacific is investigating why a train hauling 28 cars derailed in Minnesota as emergency responders contend with a hydrochloric acid leak.
Anticipated growth for intermodal will help to support Hub Group’s investments for that sector in 2021.
Union Pacific to open an intermodal terminal in Southern California, Port of South Louisiana completes rail yard, plus two appointments: Michael McCarthy to become SMBC Rail Services president and CEO, and Karen Carriere joins Transportation Technology Center Inc. as executive director of technical services.
“Every three hours in the United States, a person or vehicle is hit by a train,” said Operation Lifesaver director in an interview with FreightWaves.
The Surface Transportation Board will need to scrutinize a proposed merger between Kansas City Southern and either Canadian Pacific or CN to ensure it doesn’t hurt the operations of competing railroads, Union Pacific’s head said on the company’s first-quarter earnings call.
A 4% drop in operating revenue contributed to a 9% decline in net income for Union Pacific’s first quarter.
Union Pacific plans to close a car repair facility in Palestine, Texas, which could result in the layoffs of as many as 57 employees.
The publicly traded Class I railroads expect rail volumes to improve this year despite severe winter weather curtailing operations in February.
The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report describes the events leading up to the incident in Vail, Arizona, that killed a Union Pacific employee.
Truckers and trains will have to battle challenging winds returning to some western states (with forecast video).
U.S. Class I rail operations are seeking to return to normal, with intermodal terminals opening in the central and western U.S. But the overall network is experiencing delays in multiple locations.
UP appoints three employees to new roles within Loup Logistics and the company’s marketing and sales department.
Extreme cold and lots of snow in the Midwest and other areas could impact rail operations and cause delays, according to some railroads.
OmniTRAX sets sights on Sand Springs; advisory group approves Union Pacific’s emission reduction targets.
The Union Pacific employee, who was working in Vail, Arizona, was struck by a rail tamper and fatally injured, according to the railroad and the National Transportation Safety Board.
During a panel discussion, Home Depot and others talk about how to grow freight rail.
Anticipated consumer spending levels, retail restocking and tight truck capacity are among the factors that could support intermodal volumes this year, according to Class I rail execs.
Two FreightWaves SONAR charts illustrate Union Pacific’s views of the West Coast intermodal spot market.
Union Pacific has the network capacity to handle an anticipated rebound in rail volumes in 2021, executives said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call on Thursday.
Union Pacific’s net profit was $1.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020, on par with the fourth quarter of 2019.
A federal district court judge in Nebraska determined that it would be illegal for the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way – Employes Division to take action against Union Pacific over the railroad’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A change in plans for the Brazos yard in Texas contributed to Union Pacific reaching an operating ratio in the mid-50s.
The U.S. District Court in Nebraska sides with Union Pacific’s request to prevent Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees division from striking over the railroad’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division is considering action against Union Pacific over quarantine pay and “common sense” COVID-19 safeguards.
The National Transportation Safety Board said the freight rail industry needs to reconsider where it places buffer cars on high-hazard flammable trains in order to reduce potential accident severity.
Train lengths, improving network velocity and coronavirus uncertainties are among the big themes expressed by Class I railroad executives at a recent investor conference.
October’s total employment level among the U.S. Class Is was the second lowest for 2020 as railroads implement PSR.
The railroad has opened a new intermodal terminal in Minneapolis, and service to and from Los Angeles will begin in January.
Railroads are leveraging automation and evaluating assets to improve fuel efficiency. Corporate climate goals are on the rise as railroads increase their conservation and emission-reducing efforts.
U.S. carload traffic on a weekly basis was 3.1% lower last week on a year-over-year basis and 1.7% higher sequentially.
1998: The Surface Transportation Board has approved the division of Conrail between Norfolk Southern and CSX, which will be left in control of most railroad traffic in the eastern half of the United States.
CSX and Union Pacific executives talk about their companies’ plans to grow the business.
UP expects longer and heavier trains in its future as it seeks to take more intermodal market share away from trucks.
Intermodal traffic props up rail volumes and gains for retail sales; CSX, Union Pacific announce new appointments.
Lower fuel prices drove Union Pacific’s operating ratio lower. Meanwhile, third-quarter net profit fell 12% year-over-year.
Although the hurricane isn’t expected to make landfall until later this week, the Class I railroads are preparing now for potential service disruptions.
Individuals who allegedly crossed border illegally were reportedly found climbing moving train and locked in grain hopper.
Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: Mexican train blockade costing millions; Toyota and VW expand in Mexico; tire manufacturer opens Houston facility; Xxentria opens border operation; US, Mexico and Canada extend border closures.
U.S. rail volumes, including intermodal traffic, fell in a week that was shortened by Labor Day.
The wildfires in Washington state aren’t a major threat to BNSF’s Washington operations, but the railroad deployed trains to help area first responders. Union Pacific grappled with wildfires near a Northern California subdivision last week.
Iowa transportation company Travero plans to open a multimodal cross-dock operation by next September.
A Colorado county has paved the way for the construction of a 620-acre rail-served industrial park in the greater Denver area.
U.S. intermodal traffic continues upward trend; separately, Kansas City Southern reportedly rejects takeover bid.
The railroad didn’t say where the layoffs occurred, but they affect union and management employees across the 23-state network.
Class I railroad crews will spend the next two days clearing downed trees and restoring electric power along tracks in southern Louisiana.
Logistics aid network seeking assistance from transportation sector.
