UP
A Sept. 6 Texas Supreme Court decision may pave the way for UP to shutter its car repair shop in Palestine, according to the Dallas Morning News. An 1872 agreement has kept the shop and its now 57 employees in place. “In 1872, Palestine and Anderson County raised $150,000, about $5 million today, in bonds for the Houston and Great Northern Railroad Company, a distant corporate predecessor of Union Pacific,” the newspaper reported. “In exchange, the railroad agreed to build a depot and ‘forever thereafter keep and maintain’ its headquarters, machine shops and roundhouses in Palestine. The jobs pact was updated in 1954, and the railroad workforce in the town has dwindled amid mergers and restructuring. Union Pacific once employed more than 1,000 in Palestine.”
The ruling prompted Anderson County to file a petition with the Texas Supreme Court, according to the Dallas Morning News, but it was dismissed. Next, Anderson County “will file a motion asking the court to reconsider within 30 days, county attorney Jim Allison said,” the newspaper reported. Allison, it added, called the move “pretty much the final step in an appeal so we’re coming to some resolution on this, but we’re still hopeful that the Supreme Court will pay attention to this issue.”
According to the Dallas Morning News, UP “has said in court filings that it can ‘conduct its work more efficiently in other locations’ rather than sending freight cars thousands of miles out of the way for repair to the ‘severely outdated’ shop. Union Pacific argues the jobs pact restricts interstate commerce in violation of federal law.”
A company spokesperson told the newspaper on Sept. 6 that “Rail is essential to Texas and the U.S. economy, and this decision allows us to better align our workforce to serve customers,” and that the “timeline for closing the Palestine shop is still being determined. We will be in communication with those impacted to offer other employment opportunities across the railroad.”
Meanwhile, UP recently brought together more than 100 representatives from the ports and short lines it works with for Business Development Day in Omaha, Neb. The goal was to explore new opportunities for growth, the railroad reported Sept. 9 in the Inside Track section of its website.
UP connects directly with approximately 200 short lines, extending its 32,000-plus-mile network by about 20,000 miles. The railroad also connects indirectly with an additional 350-plus short lines that interchange with another railroad before the cars eventually connect with UP. In all, the railroad said, one out of every four cars that UP transports traveled at one point in time during its journey on a short line.
The annual gathering allowed the short line and port representatives to meet with commodity experts from UP’s Marketing and Sales team. It kicked off with an evening reception and welcome address by UP CEO Jim Vena. Participants also heard from UP President Beth Whited (pictured, right) and Executive Vice President, Marketing and Sales Kenny Rocker.
“We greatly appreciate Union Pacific facilitating this event, which is always extremely productive,” said Matt Cundiff, President of Ironhorse Resources Inc., the owner and operator of multiple short lines, according to UP. “These one-on-one meetings are a great way to discuss and develop opportunities that help us grow our future together.”
“Our short line and port partners are a critical extension of our network, providing immense value to our current customers and golden opportunities to those shippers looking to access our nation’s premier rail network,” said Dan McLaughlin, UP Assistant Vice President-Marketing and Sales, according to the railroad. “We have a cooperative, complementary relationship and understand that when one grows, we all grow together.”
McLaughlin added: “We’re proud of our relationship with our partners and energized by the work happening together to build our businesses and find new opportunities to convert truck traffic to rail.”
CN
CN will be using two new scale models (above and below) of its Autonomous Track Inspection Program (AITP) cars for training purposes “to demonstrate our safety technology and showcase another avenue of how we keep our network running safely and efficiently,” the Canadian Class I reported Sept. 9 via LinkedIn.
CN launched the program in 2020 and has 10 cars (see fact sheet below) that run in regular service at track speed to “inspect the tracks over which 95%-plus of CN’s GTM’s run.” According to the railroad, the cars, each powered by solar panels and a generator, use “the latest sensors and AI technology to inspect track,” and to “generate an extensive dataset on track health, used for proactive track and roadway maintenance and capital planning.”
Further Reading: “CN ATIP: No Longer Atypical”; ‘Arbitrary and Capricious’
