Union Pacific to resume fare collection on Metra lines as of June 1

Passengers walking down platform after disembarking from commuter train

CHICAGO — Union Pacific will resume collecting fares on the three routes it operates for Metra on June 1 — about a year after the rest of the Metra system began doing so, and more than six months after Metra sued UP over its fare collection policies. Streetsblog Chicago reports that UP conductors began informing […]

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Railroads take steps to ease intermodal congestion

Two container ships at port

Pockets of congestion and overall high volumes are slowing most railroads’ intermodal networks, prompting BNSF Railway, Union Pacific, and Norfolk Southern to take steps to manage capacity. BNSF, the largest intermodal carrier, announced several changes designed to ease congestion at key terminals beginning next week. BNSF will implement day-of-week in-gate windows at its Hobart terminal […]

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Digest: Union Pacific to close Palestine, Texas, car shop

Union Pacific logo with Building America slogan

Union Pacific to close Palestine, Texas, car shop, subject of lawsuit Union Pacific will close its car shop in Palestine, Texas, as of June 14, eliminating as many as 57 positions. The Palestine Herald-Press reports employees were notified Thursday; a Union Pacific spokeswoman confirmed the closure and attributed it to operational changes across the system. […]

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Union Pacific tangles with activist investor over annual climate-change vote proposal

Train passing under signal bridge

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific has resisted an activist investment firm’s push to allow shareholders to have an annual non-binding vote on the railroad’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. London-based TCI Fund Management, which has investments in Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, and UP, contends that a company’s greenhouse gas emissions will have an impact […]

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Digest: MTA completes work on last of Sandy-damaged subway tunnels

Workers in subway tunnel

Work on F line tunnel completed, ending Superstorm Sandy repairs The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has completed reapirs on the F line subway tunnel under the East River, concluding work on all 11 MTA under-river tunnels that were damaged by the floodwaters of Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Janno Lieber, president of MTA Construction & Development, said […]

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Federal regulators reject short line plan to revive UP’s Tennessee Pass line

Rio Grande Pacific logo

WASHINGTON — It’s back to the drawing board for Rio Grande Pacific’s plans to lease and revive Union Pacific’s long-dormant route over Tennessee Pass in Colorado. The Surface Transportation Board on Thursday rejected the exemption that Rio Grande Pacific sought for the transaction. Under board rules, small deals such as a lease or sale of […]

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Digest: Northeast Corridor service disrupted at Providence; Hartford line also having issues

Amtrak logo.

Fires disrupt service on Northeast Corridor, Hartford Line Amtrak service on the Northeast Corridor between New York and Boston has been disrupted this morning by fire department activity earlier this morning in Providence, R.I., that has affected overhead power lines. WJAR-TV reports a locomotive fire on an MBTA train in one of the underground approaches […]

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Union Pacific No. 4141 arrives in College Station for move to Bush Library and Museum

Locomotive under tarp, pulled by another locomotive

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Union Pacific No. 4141, the SD70ACe locomotive painted in an Air Force One-like scheme to honor President George H.W. Bush, has arrived in College Station and was scheduled to be trucked on Sunday afternoon from the UP tracks to the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum on the campus of […]

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Digest: UP CEO says vaccine process has been challenging

Union Pacific’s Fritz says railroad’s process of getting vaccine for workers has been complex Union Pacific CEO Lance Fritz says railroad employees have begun receiving COVID-19 vaccinations, but that the process is a challenging one. “We serve 23 western states, and in every state the process to get a vaccine into an arm is different,” […]

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Company seeking Tennessee Pass lease asks regulators to prohibit hazardous materials

Rio Grande Pacific logo

WASHINGTON — In an unusual move, the company seeking to lease Colorado’s Tennessee Pass line from Union Pacific is asking that shipment of hazardous materials be prohibited from the line. In a filing Monday with the Surface Transportation Board, Colorado, Midland & Pacific Railway — the affiliate of holding company Rio Grande Pacific which has […]

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