OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific will purchase 20 battery-electric locomotives to test in yard service, the largest commitment to date for the technology by any rail operator. In separate announcements Friday, the railroad announced purchase of 10 Wabtec FLXdrive locomotives and 10 of Progress Rail’s EMD Joule locomotives. The railroad said the cost of the […]
Union Pacific has earned a 100% score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index, earning it a place on the foundation’s “Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality list, the railroad has announced. Union Pacific was the only railroad to earn a 100% score. Amtrak and BNSF Railway also scored well, at 90% […]
OMAHA — Union Pacific on Tuesday announced its Loup Logistics subsidiary had acquired the Precision Components Inc. transload facility in Phoenix, a UP-served location that processes more than 8,000 railcars and 38,000 trucks annually. The facility in central Phoenix covers more than 100 acres, with 125,000 square feet of covered storage and 3 miles of […]
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon has responded to Union Pacific criticism of his policies, which it says play a part in much-publicized thefts from intermodal containers, by suggesting the railroad doesn’t do enough to protect its trains. The South Bay Daily Breeze reports that Gascon, in a letter to UP […]
LOS ANGELES — California Gov. Gavin Newsom visited the site of a series of much-publicized thefts from Union Pacific intermodal trains on Thursday, promising the state would provide $255 million over three years to help combat the problem. The Los Angeles Daily News reports Newsom said the money will go to grants to local law-enforcement […]
CULVER CITY, Calif. — Union Pacific has expressed interest in a new autonomous battery-electric intermodal car concept developed by a group headed by three former Space X engineers. The concept under development by Parallel Systems would see intermodal containers carried by pairs of powered battery-electric wheelsets, moving in “platoons” of cars, but capable of splitting […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific on Thursday reported record profits for 2021 despite the impact of the pandemic, wildfires, and congestion in the global supply chain. CEO Lance Fritz says the railroad expects another record-setting year in 2022, when UP will mark its 160th anniversary. But UP’s safety and service did not meet expectations last year […]
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Transportation and logistics firm Schneider will shift its primary western U.S. rail service to Union Pacific from BNSF Railway in January 2023, the companies have announced. “Schneider’s intermodal business is a great fit for Union Pacific’s diverse network,” Union Pacific CEO Lance Fritz said in a press release. “We look forward […]
PLEASANTON, Calif. — Supply-chain technology firm Blume Global has announced a collaborative information platform to coordinate cross-country shipments. Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, and CSX will be partners in the end-to-end freight scheduler, intended to allow shippers and intermodal firms to synchronize shipments across railroads. “Coordination among railroads is essential, Seana Fairchild, assistant vice president of […]
LOS ANGELES — Seventeen cars of a Union Pacific train derailed Saturday in LA’s Lincoln Heights neighborhood, an area in which trains have been struck by widespread cargo thefts. KABC-TV reports it was told by Union Pacific that no injuries were reported and the cause of the derailment was under investigation. No information was immediately […]
PHOENIX — Union Pacific CEO Lance Fritz isn’t sure what direction the Surface Transportation Board will take as it considers rules for reciprocal switching, but says the decision poses real risks for the rail industry. Speaking Thursday in a “Fireside Chat” at the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association Conference, Fritz termed the proposed rule […]
PHOENIX — Union Pacific is nearing agreements to purchase battery-electric locomotives for tests in yard use, CEO Lance Fritz says, with plans to try the locomotives in one cold-weather location and one warm-weather site. “We think you can get an 8-hour shift out of a properly designed [battery-electric],” Fritz said during a short conversation with […]
