Union Pacific was listed on the New York Stock Exchange on Sept. 15, 1870, one year and four months after the Golden Spike was driven at Promontory Summit, Utah, on May 10, 1869, to complete the nation’s first transcontinental railroad. To mark the 150th anniversary of its NYSE listing as UNP, UP officials virtually rang the Closing Bell at 4:00 p.m. EDT on Sept. 15, 2020.
Union Pacific announced Sept. 4 that it plans to lay off an unspecified number of non-agreement and agreement employees, according to a report in the Omaha World-Herald. UP attributed “continuous efforts to streamline operations, while aligning our service product and resources to drive efficiency” as the reason. “These are difficult decisions; however, we remain committed to providing our customers safe, efficient and reliable service that ensures Union Pacific remains a strong and competitive company,” UP said.
Clarissa Beyah has been named Union Pacific’s Chief Communications Officer. She will be responsible for driving the railroad’s corporate communications strategy, overseeing executive and employee communications, media relations, digital and social media, and serving as the communication’s adviser to UP’s chairman and senior leadership team.
The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) and Union Pacific recently announced a partnership which allows UP employees to register for fall courses without out-of-pocket tuition costs.
A Union Pacific train derailed early in the morning of July 29 on the south end of the railroad’s 108-year-old Salt River Bridge over Tempe Town Lake, Ariz. Up to 10 cars derailed, causing a section of the bridge to collapse. Several cars caught fire.
Union Pacific (UP), the fifth Class I to report second-quarter 2020 financials, was hit hard, like most of its peers. Net income of $1.1 billion, or $1.67 per diluted share, was 41% lower than the $1.6 billion, or $2.22 per diluted share, reported in 2Q19.
Chicago’s Metra commuter rail agency on July 21 asked the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to issue a preliminary injunction to prevent Union Pacific from “taking planned steps that would degrade or halt” commuter rail service on the three lines—UP North, UP Northwest and UP West—the Class I railroad operates and maintains equipment under contract. Separately, Metra also asked the STB to rule on whether UP has a legal common-carrier obligation to provide commuter service. “UP maintains that it has no such obligation,” Metra said, adding that it “strongly disagrees” with UP’s position and that “settling that dispute is critical to determining how service will continue to operate on the lines and, more important, what it will cost the public.”
On June 4, the RCR Taylor Logistics Park Groundbreaking Reception was held to celebrate the development of the dual Class I-served industrial, 752-acre park, located close to the Austin, Texas MSA.
Carloads for grain and motor vehicles have risen in recent weeks, a sign that the rail volumes could potentially be past their bottoming out, according to Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) CEO Lance Fritz.
Union Pacific on May 8, 2020 shut down its Cold Connect service for perishables traffic from the West Coast to the East Coast. Cold Connect began in January 2017 with the acquisition from Railex of three cold storage and distribution facilities in Delano, Calif.; Wallula, Wash.; and Rotterdam, N.Y.