Union Pacific

Union Pacific expects to invest $3.4 billion to strengthen its network in 2024. (Caption and Photograph Courtesy of UP)
Commentary

UP: Making Progress Preventing Derailments

On my first day at the railroad nearly 20 years ago, I saw train crews in the yard relying on printed paperwork to do their jobs. Today, the men and women of Union Pacific (UP) have that information at the touch of their fingertips on a mobile device.

The USDOT has awarded a $226.2 million INFRA grant and a $73.8 Mega grant to the Port of New Orleans to construct a new 1,200-acre container terminal on the Gulf Coast. (Port of New Orleans Image)

USDOT Awards $4.9B for Mega, INFRA Projects

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is distributing $4.9 billion to 37 nationwide projects through the FY 2023-24 Mega (National Infrastructure Project Assistance) and INFRA (Infrastructure for Rebuilding America) grant programs. Twelve rail-related projects will receive a total of $1.6 billion; the Pier B project at the Port of Long Beach and the Louisiana International Terminal project at the Port of New Orleans are among the winners.

“At the end of this decade, the Port of Long Beach will be on the cusp of not only operational transformation given our rail investment, but also environmental transformation—to a zero-emission port,” CEO Mario Cordero said during his seventh annual “State of the Port” address. (POLB Photograph)

Watch: POLB Prepares for ‘Year of Rail’

Port of Long Beach (POLB) CEO Mario Cordero on Jan. 17 gave a “State of the Port” address, highlighting rail facility modernization and air quality improvement efforts that will continue through 2024, as well as 2023’s cargo volume statistics.

The new Brazos industrial development site is on the TexAmericas Center East Campus in Hooks, Tex., which is two hours east of Dallas and two hours southwest of Little Rock. (TexAmericas Center Map)

Ready for Development: TexAmericas Center’s UP-Served Site (Updated)

TexAmericas Center (TAC) on Nov. 28 reported that its 250-acre Union Pacific (UP)-served industrial park in Hooks, Tex., is “shovel-ready.” On Jan. 16, TAC received a $1.5 million portion of $15.4 million in grant funding for infrastructure projects in military communities from the Texas Military Preparedness Commission’s (TMPC) Defense Economic Adjustment Assistance Grant (DEAAG) program.

(Photo Credit: Cory Rusch, BLET Division 659, Courtesy of BLET)

PNWR, BLET Ratify Contract

A new on-property agreement has been ratified between 55 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) members and Genesee & Wyoming’s Portland & Western Railroad (PNWR), a 516-mile Class II that operates throughout Washington and Oregon and interchanges with BNSF (at Vancouver, Wash., and Portland, Ore.) and Union Pacific (at Eugene, Ore., and Portland, Ore.).

Jim Vena Featured at Next-Gen Freight Rail 2024

Union Pacific (UP) CEO Jim Vena is among the featured speakers at Railway Age’s Next-Gen Freight Rail 2024 Conference, to be held March 12, 2024 at the Union League Club of Chicago. Vena will not