March 1, 2023
Union Pacific’s robust network of more than 7,000 wayside detection devices monitor the condition of freight cars and locomotives in real time. These wayside detectors are electronic sensors installed along the tracks used to measure strain, temperature, acoustic signature and dimensions of various components such as bearings, wheels, trucks and braking systems.
These alerts are used to drive UP responses to determine safe handling and repair of rolling stock. Robust use of wayside detectors vastly improves proactive risk identification and enhances repair capabilities.
Among types of wayside detectors:
The wayside detectors described above generate more than 16 million data points every day on Union Pacific. This comprehensive information – temperature, vibration, stress/strain, acoustics, vision and shape -- provides a holistic evaluation of equipment condition and sets the stage for required action. The conditions are sent as “Alerts” belonging to specific cars. Based on the severity of the alert, the appropriate risk-based response is taken:
Timely and optimal response to identified equipment conditions helps address risk with minimal interruption to customer shipments and keeps trains on track to their destination. Additionally, we share alerts and health summaries with other railroads, railcar owners, and the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
Track-related derailment prevention is the forefront of what Union Pacific’s engineering department does every day, and in the last 10 years Union Pacific’s track-caused derailments have seen a 55% reduction. While that is an accomplishment to be proud of, it has not stopped us from continuing to use training and technology to drive that number to zero. Derailment prevention occurs many ways, but when it comes to track, it boils down to inspection, assessment, and capital renewal.
Inspection is the process of finding non-compliant conditions and applying the 3 Rs: Repair, Restrict and Remove. Every year the engineering team is visually inspecting 4.5 million miles with our track inspection team, and over 430,000 miles with our geometry inspection fleet consisting of locomotives, boxcars and operated vehicles. We will also test over 60,000 miles of rail flaw inspection with our Detector Car fleet. The urgent items are relayed to our field teams for repairs, the rest of the data is used to drive our longer team maintenance planning.
Assessments are a maintenance planning tool. There is an immense amount of data coming from our geometry fleet, most of which allows for proper surfacing plans to be executed to repair conditions before they become defects. Another example of assessment is our tie assessment team, and in 2023, this team will assess 6,000 miles of ties. The same type of analysis goes into our rail planning. The data collected from the rail flaw inspection determines optimal locations for rail replacement.
The engineering department’s capital renewal program is at the heart of our long-term derailment prevention strategy. In 2023, we will spend $1.9 billion dollars for capital renewal. Unlike inspection that is focused on immediate repairs, the capital replacement strategy is fed by our assessment program to target renewals at the right place, at the right time.
These are a few examples of the multiple safeguards supporting Union Pacific’s derailment prevention efforts. Our teams are constantly evaluating new technologies, materials that provide improved performance, and equipment and procedures that will improve repairs. We are deeply committed to continuously improving our approach to derailment prevention; its success is the foundation of safety in everything we do.
This is part two of a series of Insights essays focused on rail transportation safety at Union Pacific. Read the first essay, published Feb. 20, 2023.