Practical Teamwork, Real Impact: Union Pacific’s Safer Way to Set Hand Brakes

We closed 2025 with the best employee safety record in our history, improving 24% from 2024. That progress reflects years of practical, field-driven change across the railroad. The evolution of the brake stick is one example of how front-line railroaders working together can make everyday tasks safer.

Like most of our best ideas, this one started with a challenge. Too many people were climbing up on equipment to hand-spin brakes – and too many were getting hurt doing it. We needed a better way. Climbing on and off rail cars to set handbrakes may seem routine, but doing it in rain, snow and heat – often dozens of times a day – carries potential risk that can lead to sprains, slips and even falls.

So, we asked ourselves a simple question: how do we take climbing out of the equation altogether?

We partnered with an industry vendor, and the first design came back quickly. It was an aluminum brake stick, extendable like a household light bulb pole, that enabled employees to set and release hand brakes safely from the ground.

It was a good first attempt, but it was heavy, the locking mechanism created potential pinch points and it didn’t hold up to real railroading.

So, we regrouped and took a different approach that leaned into those closest to the work – we designed it side by side with railroaders who use the tool every day. They told us exactly what worked and what didn’t, and we listened.

Crews asked for something lighter, with no pinch points and a way to keep it nearby between tasks. One of our conductors said, ‘If you can put magnets on it, I can stick it on the car and grab it when I need it.’ That was the moment: Simple, brilliant and straight from the field.

The result is a fiberglass brake stick that’s light, magnetic and easy to use, designed by railroaders and refined through dozens of iterations. It’s not expensive, it’s easy to use and it’s virtually eliminating injuries from climbing on and off cars. That’s a home run.

Since 2023, we’ve purchased more than 11,000 fiberglass brake sticks that are now in use across our network. Using the tool is voluntary, but most realize staying on the ground is easier and safer. Good ideas sell themselves.

To me, the brake stick is proof of what happens when employees and leaders solve problems together. This is what safety in action looks like. When we listen to the people doing the work and improve the tools they count on, we create real solutions that solve real challenges – and continue to build on our industry-leading safety performance so we all go home safe.

The Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern combination unites two safety-first cultures and accelerates technologies that reduce incidents and enhance operational precision. The result: a safer, innovative and more resilient coast-to-coast freight network. Learn more at AmericasGreatConnection.com.