The plan is an important part of Union Pacific’s objective of operating a safe, reliable and efficient railroad. Resulting benefits are expected to help Union Pacific achieve its 60 percent operating ratio goal by 2020, on the way to achieving a 55 percent operating ratio.
“We are not currently meeting customer expectations,” said Lance Fritz, Union Pacific’s chairman, president and chief executive officer. “Unified Plan 2020 is our path forward to secure our place as the industry leader in safety, service and financial performance.”
Precision Scheduled Railroading is operational at other large North American railroads, driving improved service reliability for customers, increased operating efficiency and reduced network complexity. Key principles being incorporated into Union Pacific’s Unified Plan 2020 include:
• Shifting the focus of operations from moving trains to moving cars.
• Minimizing car dwell, car classification events and locomotive power requirements.
• Utilizing general-purpose trains by blending existing train services.
• Balancing train movements to improve the utilization of crews and rail assets.
Unified Plan 2020 is being developed in conjunction with employees closest to the work, including in the field, incorporating their experience and expertise. Union Pacific will communicate thoroughly with customers in advance of making changes to existing rail service.
The plan will first be implemented on Union Pacific’s eastern North/South corridor, creating more streamlined operations between Wisconsin and Texas. Further rollout will occur in phases, with initial implementation across the entire rail network expected by 2020.
New plan is awesome. 66 hours in 5 days with 11 hours off in between. Going to work all hours of the day and night. Cutting boards and laying off people because new plan makes less crews run more trains. Tired crews are now more tired. If they had enough crews to run trains in the first place this wouldn’t be an issue. Instead management wants to save every penny. Being tired out here is going to kill more people…good job UP. People quit their jobs to work here. The 80% or so that leave within the first few years have to get new ones. 17 years in, should I follow?
I understand the negativity against EHH’s Precision Scheduled Railroading to some degree, namely its effect on disrupting the system, but could someone please explain to me how it is bad to expect your shipments to arrive consistently and on-time on a network that costs less overall to run?
UP+CSX only if UP and it’s mgt set policy and run the railroad.
Ya, I would imagine there are packs of hand wipes all over to clean up the sticky messes on all of the keyboards.
And already this morning the Wall Street analysts are slobbering down their ties crowing about all the money to be saved by parking locomotives and getting rid of people.
I have been calling them “EHH LITE” for a while now. Today’s announcement just makes it official.
Big key difference between doing it Hunter’s way and the UP way…including the personnel closest to the operations in developing the plan.
UP+CSX by 2024