News Releases
Safety
Union Pacific Railroad's Twin Cities Service Unit Improves Employee and Public Safety in 2015
Union Pacific is Safest Railroad in United States
Omaha, Neb., March 23, 2016
Union Pacific Railroad's Twin Cities Service Unit, which includes about 1,700 miles of track across Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa, improved community and employee safety in 2015. The service unit reported 21 percent fewer railroad crossing incidents in 2015 versus 2014, reflecting progress educating the driving public about rail safety. Additionally, the service unit's reportable employee injury rate improved 75 percent from 1.69 in 2014 to 0.43 in 2015, demonstrating progress toward achieving zero employee injuries.
A railroad's reportable injury rate is the total number of injuries reported to the Federal Railroad Administration per 200,000 employee hours, which is equivalent to 100 employees working a full year.
"Employees are committed to safety as our No. 1 priority," said Erik Erickson, Twin Cities service unit superintendent. "They are dedicated to working safely, keeping their peers safe and educating their communities how to behave safely around railroad tracks."
Many Twin Cities Service Unit employees took the Courage to Care personal pledge, which represents personal accountability and strengthens the degree to which each and every employee prioritizes safety as an issue. In 2015, Twin Cities employees focused on "taking a minute" in every action to consider its impact on themselves, their employees and their communities.
"Investing the time to think about why they come to work each day lead employees to focus on their friends and families – the people they want to return home safely to at the end of their work day – and motivated them to work even more safely," Erickson said.
Union Pacific's Twin Cities Service Unit also committed to educating the public about railroad safety. In 2015, the service unit did community outreach with Operation Lifesaver, utilized data to direct their safety education activities to appropriate grade crossing locations and continued an effort to place mobile billboards near grade crossings. UP also is working with partner communities, such as the city of South St. Paul, to complete rail safety education projects funded by safety grants.
Additionally, Union Pacific employees set a systemwide all-time reportable personal injury rate record in 2015, improving 11 percent from 2014 to 0.87, making Union Pacific the safest Class 1 railroad in the United States, according to data reported by the FRA. Union Pacific’s railroad system includes more than 40,000 employees operating in 23 states and 7,300 communities.
ABOUT UNION PACIFIC
Union Pacific Railroad is the principal operating company of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP). One of America's most recognized companies, Union Pacific Railroad connects 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country by rail, providing a critical link in the global supply chain. From 2006-2015, Union Pacific invested approximately $33 billion in its network and operations to support America's transportation infrastructure. The railroad's diversified business mix includes Agricultural Products, Automotive, Chemicals, Coal, Industrial Products and Intermodal. Union Pacific serves many of the fastest-growing U.S. population centers, operates from all major West Coast and Gulf Coast ports to eastern gateways, connects with Canada's rail systems and is the only railroad serving all six major Mexico gateways. Union Pacific provides value to its roughly 10,000 customers by delivering products in a safe, reliable, fuel-efficient and environmentally responsible manner.
The statements and information contained in the news releases provided by Union Pacific speak only as of the date issued. Such information by its nature may become outdated, and investors should not assume that the statements and information contained in Union Pacific's news releases remain current after the date issued. Union Pacific makes no commitment, and disclaims any duty, to update any of this information.
Media Contact
Calli Hite
402-544-3026
callihite@up.com
@callihite