Railroad News

Nebraska Army National Guard soldiers and the West Central District Health Department last week administered COVID-19 vaccines to Union Pacific Railroad workers in a temporary mass vaccination clinic at UP's Bailey Yard in North Platte, Nebraska.

More than 260 UP employees received their first of two vaccine doses on Feb. 25. The vaccine is being offered to transportation industry workers under Phase 1b of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services statewide distribution plan, according to an article on the U.S. Army's website.

Union Pacific Railroad and the National Park Foundation (NPF) and announced a continuation and expansion of their partnership to help connect students to national parks.

This commitment advances NPF's goal to double the reach of its Open OutDoors for Kids (OOK) program over the next four years, according to a news release.

Union Pacific Railroad engineers in the Roseville Subdivision one-upped Mother Nature at California's Donner Pass by creating a controlled avalanche before she brings the snow crashing down, according to an article on the Union Pacific’s Inside Track website.

The equipment — called the avalauncher — releases two pounds of explosives at the mountain to create a controlled avalanche.

Union Pacific Railroad last week announced the opening of a Twin Cities intermodal terminal, which will launch intermodal service to Minneapolis in January 2021.

The new service will feature domestic intermodal movements between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Los Angeles, UP officials said in a press release.

Union Pacific Railroad yesterday announced agreement employees who worked at least 30 days during the pandemic will receive a one-time $1,000 gross bonus payment in December.

Pending union approval, all current agreement employees — including those furloughed — who worked at least 30 days between March 1 and Nov. 30 will be eligible to receive the bonus. The days worked do not need to be consecutive, UP officials said in a press release.

Union Pacific Railroad today reported third-quarter 2020 net income decreased 12% to $1.4 billion, or $2.01 per diluted share, from $1.6 billion, or $2.22 per diluted share, in the same quarter last year.

Operating revenue in the quarter fell 11% to $4.9 billion from a year ago. Third-quarter business volumes, as measured by total revenue carloads, decreased 4%. Premium volumes increased compared to Q3 2019, while industrial and bulk declined, UP officials said in a press release.

Union Pacific Railroad was designated the top “Military Friendly Employer” in the transportation industry for 2021 and ranked No. 7 overall by Viqtory Media, publisher of G.I. Jobs magazine.

More than 17 percent of UP employees, or 6,300, are veterans and active-service military members. 

Union Pacific Railroad's Community Ties Giving Program has awarded $10.2 million in local grants to more than 930 nonprofit organizations across the Class I's 23-state system.

Traditionally, UP awards grants in the company's three philanthropic priorities: safety, workforce development and community spaces. However, this year, nearly $7 million is being awarded to efforts to address needs related to the COVID-19 pandemic, UP officials said in a press release.

A team of Union Pacific Railroad engineering employees have been on the front lines of battling hot spots along the railroad's track, bridges and tunnels as wildfires roar across Northern California.

The crew have been using the UP water train, which consists of two rail cars that each hold 12,500 gallons of water and a pumper. The train goes back and forth over a 7-miles stretch, traversing up to 50 miles a day, UP officials said in railroad's InsideTrack newsletter.

Union Pacific Corp. posted a 24 percent decline in second-quarter operating revenue and a 28 percent decline in net income as the Class I faced a 20 percent drop in volume due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Class I reported second-quarter 2020 net income of $1.1 billion, or $1.67 per diluted share, compared with $1.6 billion, or $2.22 per diluted share, a year ago.

Union Pacific Corp. Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Lance Fritz earlier this week posted on the railroad's website a statement about the recent racial injustice events that spurred protests throughout the nation over the past week.

Fritz began by noting that UP employees formed the Black Employee Network 40 years ago to help company leadership understand and respond to the company's African American employees.

Customers were notified late last week that Union Pacific Railroad is ceasing operations of Cold Connect, a Loup Logistics service that moves refrigerated products from the West Coast to UP's warehouse in Rotterdam, New York.

On May 8, employees were informed that the service would permanently close and most Cold Connect-related positions have been eliminated, said UP spokesman Tim McMahan in an email.

Union Pacific Railroad today posted first-quarter net income of $1.5 billion, or $2.15 per diluted share, compared to $1.4 billion, or $1.93 per diluted share, a year ago. 

Operating revenue during the quarter declined 3 percent to $5.2 billion compared with the same quarter last year. Business volumes as measured by total revenue carloads fell 7 percent during the period versus a year ago, UP officials said in a press release.