January 30, 2017 - TRA Newswire -

Omaha, Nebraska - Union Pacific achieved its best annual employee-safety rate in 2016, marking the safest year in its 154-year history. The employee reported injury rate is measured by injuries for every 200,000 employee hours worked. The company's employee reported injury rate declined 14 percent from 0.87 in 2015 to 0.75 in 2016.

"Union Pacific's employees achieved an incredible milestone reflecting their dedication to operating safely in work areas and the communities we serve," said Rod Doerr, Union Pacific vice president – Safety. "This unrelenting focus ensures everyone goes home safely as we work toward our ultimate goal of zero accidents."

The company also made safety gains with an approximately 3 percent improvement in its 2016 derailment rate compared with 2015. The reportable rail equipment incident rate per million train miles dropped from 3.10 in 2015 to 3.02 in 2016.

Union Pacific employs a variety of safety and risk mitigation activities, including the Courage to Care personal commitment which empowers employees to look out for their peers and "stop the line" on any operation that could result in an incident. The company also occasionally pauses systemwide operations for safety stand-downs, during which employees have candid safety discussions and share experiences to learn from each other.