BLAIRSDEN, Calif. — Fourteen cars of a Union Pacific train derailed this afternoon (Sunday, Feb. 11) in the Feather River Canyon, sending cars and coal into the Middle Fork of the Feather River, KOVR-TV reports. The California Office of Emergency Service’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response said it was assessing the environmental impact. Union […]
Railroad: Union Pacific
A Valentine’s Day gift guide for the contemporary model railroader
Valentine’s Day gift guide With Valentine’s Day coming up, you may be at a loss when it comes to buying a gift for that special someone. Chocolates and flowers are blasé. Dinner and a movie? Sure, but that only lasts a few hours. A mixtape? Come on, it’s 2024, making a Spotify playlist takes seconds. […]
Union Pacific seeks to block BNSF access to Arkansas quarry
WASHINGTON – For the second time in the past three months, federal regulators are being asked to settle a dispute related to Union Pacific’s 1996 acquisition of Southern Pacific. BNSF Railway has requested that the Surface Transportation Board allow it to access a UP-served quarry in Arkansas. In a filing that appeared on the STB […]
Union Pacific opens Phoenix intermodal facility
PHOENIX — Union Pacific has opened its Phoenix Intermodal Terminal, the latest addition to the railroad’s “pop-up” terminal strategy to test markets before building large, permanent facilities. The railroad says in an article on its website that the facility opened Feb. 1, 45 days after it first announced plans for the facility [see “Union Pacific […]
Nebraska man sentenced to year in prison for attempted rail sabotage
OMAHA, Neb. — A Nebraska man has been sentenced to a year in prison for trying to sabotage a Union Pacific grade crossing, KETV-TV reports. Allen Love Jr., 50, of Arlington Nebraska will also receive two years of supervised release. In September 2019, a Union Pacific employee found a 6-foot metal pipe lodged between the […]
STB extends reporting of railroad employment data for BNSF, CSX, NS, and UP
WASHINGTON – The Surface Transportation Board today issued a decision that extends the temporary reporting of employment data through the end of the year and that requires certain updated information from BNSF Railway, CSX, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific. The board originally required the big four U.S. Class I railroads to submit employment information beginning […]
Railroads seek to head off Mexican bridge closures as cross-border traffic grows
OMAHA, Neb. — Railroad executives will meet with U.S. and Mexican customs officials next month to discuss how they can work together to keep vital rail border crossings open amid the surge in migrants crossing the Rio Grande. The railroad bridges linking Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, with Mexico were shut down for four […]
Union Pacific: Uncertainty clouds freight outlook for the year
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific expects muted traffic volume this year due to a combination of a slow economy, lower demand for coal, and the loss of an international intermodal contract to BNSF Railway. UP executives discussed their outlook for the year while releasing fourth-quarter financial results this morning. “The Union Pacific team is executing […]
CEOs believe conditions are better as next round of labor negotiations approach
LOMBARD, Ill. — A lot has happened since Class I railroads averted a strike in 2022. CEOs and other officials at the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers Winter Meeting were happy to point to progress in labor relations. Which is good, because — believe it or not — the whole national contract process is about […]
Union Pacific says BNSF has no right to interchange with proposed Utah short line
WASHINGTON — Union Pacific has urged federal regulators to squash BNSF Railway’s request to gain access a proposed short line railroad in Utah. Last month BNSF told the Surface Transportation Board that it should have the right to connect with the Savage Tooele Railroad due to trackage rights it was granted over UP’s Shafter Subdivision […]
MARS notebook: Dealing with the border
LOMBARD, Ill. — Notes from Day 1 of the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers Winter Meeting: Border battle Union Pacific found itself involved in headlines not of its own making in December when U.S. Customs and Border Protection shut down border rail gateways at Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, quickly throwing U.S-Mexico rail traffic […]
CN, CPKC, UP named to Dow Jones world and North America sustainability lists
Canadian National, Canadian Pacific Kansas City, and Union Pacific have been named to the World and North America Dow Jones Sustainability indices released earlier this month, while CSX is on the North America list. For CN, it was the 12th consecutive year on the world list and 15th on the North America list. CPKC’s inclusion […]