Be Prepared for Service Reminders

Announcement Number: CN2019-50
Categories: General Announcements
Posted Date: June 28, 2019

To Our Valued Customers,
 
As a follow up to our communication from March 2019, we are kindly reminding you for your assistance in following the best practices to be prepared for rail service. When a rail car is unable to be picked up or delivered at industry, our ability to provide reliable train service to you can be negatively impacted.  
 
By ensuring your facility is prepared for service, you will help Union Pacific improve cycle times and provide more reliable train service. Being prepared for service may also reduce the likelihood of incurring accessorial charges associated with our Not Prepared for Service (NPFS) tariff.
 
In the event your scheduled rail cars are not accessible, Union Pacific updated our switching practices to encourage our crews to move cars that are not ready to be pulled and blocking access to cars that are ready to be pulled. This allows our crews to pull the cars that are ready for movement and to place additional cars in the facility for loading or unloading. This intra-plant switching is important as it benefits both you and Union Pacific by turning assets quickly and delivering your products to market more timely. 
 
If Union Pacific determines that our crews have ample time to safely perform the additional switching and without impacting service to other customers, our crews will complete the unscheduled work on a case by case basis. Due to the additional time and cost associated with this switching practice when it occurs, Union Pacific will assess a charge of $180 per intra-plant switch performed in lieu of the $400 accessorial charge for NPFS. Please note that you will not be assessed multiple accessorial charges on the same car for the same cause. 
 
We encourage you to review our Be Prepared for Service material for additional information. You can also access our Manage Notifications dashboard (user ID and password required) and subscribe to receive an email notification when we are unable to provide service based on the guidelines above (simply check the "Not Prepared for Service" notification box).
 
As a reminder, prior to the arrival of our train crews, please observe the following guidelines:
  • Rail cars should be waybilled or released prior to our arrival (we are unable to pull cars without proper waybill instructions). 
  • All waybilled or released rail cars are in a location/position for Union Pacific to access (all rail cars are located on pull tracks where applicable).
  • All waybilled or released rail cars are completely loaded or unloaded prior to our arrival.
  • Gates and secure structures are opened/unlocked.
  • Safety flags (for example, blue flags) are taken down.
  • Rail cars are not connected to buildings, loading docks or other structures (dock plates, hoses, loading/unloading apparatuses are removed).
  • Track structure is in working order with no debris blocking movement.
Thank you for your support of our goal to create a safer and more reliable rail network. By working mutually together, we can provide you consistent first and last mile service.
 
If you have any questions regarding being prepared for service, please contact your sales representative.