Union Pacific Is Tackling Rail Heat to Keep America’s Freight on Track

As warmer temperatures return, Union Pacific is applying an innovative concept to manage heat-related track conditions – part of a broader strategy that helped the railroad deliver its best-ever full-year derailment incident rate in 2025, improving 19% year over year. 

“Steel rails expand in extreme heat,” said Rod Doerr, chief safety officer. “When that steel has nowhere to go, it can push sideways and create what we call a thermal misalignment.”

Rail anchors, fasteners and regular maintenance remain the primary ways Union Pacific manages this potential risk. But across a 32,000-mile network, teams are always looking for additional ways to reduce heat and stress in the rail itself.

The answer: blending European rail techniques with U.S. highway practices. 

“We took a page from road striping,” Doerr said. “Using a high-rail truck and paint sprayer, we apply white paint to both sides of the rail.”

The idea is simple: by reflecting sunlight, the white paint lowers the rail’s surface temperature. 

“We’ve seen about a 20-degree drop in the rail temperature,” Doerr said. “That’s huge. If you’re not fighting the sun’s heat, you dramatically reduce the risk of the rail shifting.”

Union Pacific began targeted deployment in high-heat areas last year, adding another layer of protection alongside existing maintenance and inspection practices.  

“To my knowledge, no other railroad in the U.S. is doing this,” Doerr said. “It’s a proven technique used in Europe, and it works.”

For Doerr, the effort reflects how safety improvements are built: through a combination of proven practices, continuous monitoring and practical innovation. That prevention-first mindset is central to why rail consistently ranks as the safest way to move freight over land, with incident rates far lower than trucking when measured by gross ton-miles.

“We’re always looking for ways to strengthen the system,” Doerr said. “No single tool does it alone – but together, they make a meaningful difference.”

The initiative has already become a talking point in crew rooms and town halls across the network – not just for what it does, but for what it represents: a willingness to think differently and ask, “What’s possible?” 

“When people first saw it, they said, ‘Why haven’t we been doing this for a hundred years?’” Doerr said. “That’s the kind of question I love to hear, because it means the culture of safety innovation is alive and well.”

Executing Union Pacific’s Safety, Service and Operational Excellence strategy lays a strong foundation for creating America’s first transcontinental railroad.