Alliances with other North American railroads are key to providing seamless service beyond Union Pacific's traditional 23-state reach. Alliance partners include all the major North American railroads, affording customers easy access to additional markets.

In partnership with Ferrocarril Mexicano (a 26-percent owned affiliate of the Railroad) and Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana, UP grew its Mexico revenue by 19 percent. To speed the delivery of automobiles, the three railroads worked with auto manufacturers in Mexico, including Ford Motor Company and its logistics partner, UPS Autogistics.

Over the last few years, the Railroad has strengthened its alliance with Canadian Pacific Railway, which hauls commodities such as potash in western Canada and hands them off to Union Pacific at Eastport, Idaho. Traffic then moves through Washington and Oregon into UP's Roseville, California yard. Operating independently, this service took 14 days. Now it takes six, and the number of trains through the Eastport corridor has increased from two to five daily.