Union Pacific Charges For Certain Empty Private Tank Car Movements

Announcement Number: AG2014-68
Categories: All Agricultural Products
Posted Date: December 10, 2014

This January, Union Pacific will modify its rules for chargeable empty tank car movements. This change will make several modifications to documents and tariffs and therefore, our sales team will be available to answer any questions you may have to ensure a smooth transition to the new rules.    

Rule Change Details
Beginning January 1, 2015, Union Pacific will directly apply mileage-based charges to certain additional movements of empty private tank cars to and from repair facilities described in Item 55-series of Tariff UP 6004. Under this modified item, the mileage-based charges of Tariff UPRR 4703 Item 1100-series will apply to empty tank car movements to and from repair facilities unless (i) the empty movement to a repair facility is immediately preceded by a movement for which Union Pacific received loaded line-haul revenue, (ii) the empty tank car is moving under AAR Interchange Rule 1, or (iii) the empty tank car was damaged by UP. These revenue-empty movements will be excluded from tank car equalization accounting, similar to movements of new or restenciled tank cars prior to their first loaded move in commercial service. 

This change will:

  • Bring the treatment of empty private tank cars to more closely align with the treatment of other empty private equipment on Union Pacific.
  • Allow direct and prompt recovery for the costs associated with empty private tank cars to encourage those who control the movements to manage their cars to minimize empty miles. 
  • Decrease empty miles on our busy network and help support network fluidity.

Union Pacific is focused on creating value for our customers. Our 2014 capital plan calls for spending a record $4.0 billion dollars to harden our railroad infrastructure and expand our capacity to support our customers’ growth. This change will help support our plans for providing a consistent and valuable service as we more closely align costs with the applicable service.

You may view Tariffs UP 6004 and UPRR 4703, which establish the mileage-based charges, online via a secure login at https://c02.my.uprr.com/pic/secure/jas/index.jas. You may view Item 170 in Supplement 31 of Tariff RIC 6007, which excepts these revenue-empty movements from tank car equalization, online at http://www.nationaltariffs.com/RIC_6007-N.htm.

If you have any questions please contact your Union Pacific representative.