UP has shifted some switching from Settegast Yard in Houston to nearby Englewood Yard, Chief Operating Officer Jim Vena told investors and analysts during the railroad’s earnings call on Thursday morning.
And he noted that UP recently concentrated its Kansas City-area switching at 18th Street Yard after shutting down neighboring Armourdale Yard and idling the hump at Neff Yard last fall.
“Going forward, we will continue to look for ways to reduce car touches, leading to additional terminal rationalization opportunities on our network,” Vena says.
Fewer car classifications improves service by cutting transit times and boosting reliability, Vena says.
UP’s key performance metrics — including car miles per day, terminal dwell, and average train speed — all improved during the fourth quarter. Cars traveled 5% further per day, spent 13% less time in yards, and train speed inched up 1%.
On time performance, measured by car trip plan compliance, reached 76% for the quarter, up nine points from a year ago.
UP continued to move tonnage on fewer but longer trains. Average train length for the quarter was up 16%, or by 1,100 feet. The average UP train is now 8,200 feet long.
As a result, the number of crew starts dropped by 20% — well beyond the quarterly 11% decline in traffic volume — and the railroad had around 3,100 locomotives stored as of Dec. 31.
UP has sold 200 of the stored units and scrapped 100 others, while the railroad can quickly fire up “hundreds” of locomotives if volume returns, Vena says.
Extending sidings is a focus of this year’s smaller capital spending plan, which does not include money to complete Brazos Yard, a hump yard that UP was building at the junction of seven main lines near Hearne, Texas.
UP has earmarked $150 million to lengthen and add sidings this year, mostly in and around Texas, to accommodate longer trains. Last year UP focused on extending sidings on remaining single-track sections of the Sunset Route west of El Paso, Texas.
“These sidings will support our efficiency initiatives by increasing the number of long trains we can operate in each direction, thus reducing demand for crew starts,” Vena says.
UP continues to make operational changes under its shift to an operating plan based on the principles of Precision Scheduled Railroading. Vena was asked what stage the railroad was in with its PSR changes, which began in October 2018 and accelerated with Vena’s arrival at the railroad a year ago.
Vena put his answer in football terms: “Well, I started on 20 yard line, or 25 yard line, and I don’t think I’ve hit the middle of the field yet.”
The ghost of Ewing H Harrison still haunts
Classify everything at Englewood, close satellite yards. That worked well last time.
“UP has sold 200 of the stored units and scrapped 100 others, while the railroad can quickly fire up “hundreds” of locomotives if volume returns, Vena says.”
…. That’s a big IF Mr. Vena… Matter of fact change your slogan from “Building America” to De-training America…
UP needs to modify its old slogan, to “We Can’t Handle It” …
“reducing car handling” is another way of saying: ” We’ve pissed off so many customers that they’ve gone elsewhere.”
UP and all clkass 1’s need to INCREASE business rather than attempt to see who will win the race down the drain or into the toilet.
So they’ve shifted traffic back to Englewood Yard. I hope the ghost of Southern Pacific doesn’t come back and cause another meltdown!