STB allows Minnesota shipper’s complaint against Union Pacific to proceed

Surface Transportation Board logo

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board will allow a Minnesota company to proceed with its complaint against Union Pacific that alleges service reductions by the railroad violate UP’s common carrier obligation and constitute unreasonable practices. In a decision issued Tuesday, the board granted a request by Sanimax USA to partially revoke commodity exemptions and allow […]

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Union Pacific train derails near Des Moines, Iowa

Union Pacific logo with Building America slogan

CARLISLE, Iowa — Cleanup continued through the weekend after one locomotive and about 20 cars of a Union Pacific train derailed Friday night near the town of Carlisle, just southeast of Des Moines. KCCI-TV reports the accident, which temporarily closed the adjacent State Route 5, initially launched a hazmat response from local fire departments, but […]

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Union Pacific on Cajon Pass in the 1940s

Two steam locomotives power a heavyweight passenger train

Union Pacific on Cajon Pass in the 1940s: Union Pacific operates on Cajon Pass in Southern California as the Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad. It uses Santa Fe trackage on a rental basis from Daggett, 8 miles east of Barstow, to Riverside, 9 miles south of San Bernardino. This arrangement has been in effect […]

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Metra asks court to revisit ruling on UP dispute

Metra_UP_Winthrop_Lassen

CHICAGO — Metra is seeking review of a September federal court ruling that Union Pacific is not obligated to continue operating rail service for the Chicago-area commuter operator. The Cook County Record reports Metra is arguing U.S. District Judge Jorge Alonso committed a “manifest injustice” in a September ruling that UP has no common-carrier obligation […]

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Cheyenne, Wyo., makes plans for rail-oriented tourist project

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Cheyenne City Council has voiced support for a rail-oriented tourist attraction that will initially include a series of historic railcars and could expand to include Union Pacific’s roundhouse and the Big Boy locomotive currently on display elsewhere in the city. The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reports the council last month approved a […]

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Union Pacific sets quarterly marks for operating ratio and profits

Container train with two yellow locomotives

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific set third-quarter records for operating ratio, profits, and earnings per share despite flat traffic volume and the impact of wildfires and bad weather that hurt service reliability. “The Union Pacific team dealt with multiple network disruptions that required us to rebuild bridges, reroute trains, and connect more closely with other […]

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Unions, Union Pacific file suits over vaccination requirement

Logo of SMART-TD union

OMAHA — Union Pacific and its unions are suing each other over the vaccination requirement announced by the railroad last week. The Associated Press reports the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division, or SMART-TD, filed suit last week contending UP should have negotiated before announcing the vaccine requirement. The same day, UP sued […]

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Union Pacific to require employees to receive COVID-19 vaccinations

Union Pacific logo with Building America slogan

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific will require employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccination by Dec. 8, the railroad has announced. In a brief notification on its website, the railroad says it is taking the action to comply with an executive order requiring vaccination for employees of federal contractors, noting UP’s status “as a federal contractor […]

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CP train operating without functioning PTC at center of three-train collision in Minnesota

Derailed locomotive and freight car on adjacent tracks

WASHINGTON — A Canadian Pacific train operating without functioning positive train control triggered August’s three-railroad, three-train collision in St. Paul, Minn., according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board. The preliminary report, released Wednesday, lays out basic facts of the accident but does not draw any conclusions or recommend any actions. The […]

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