April 3, 2017 - TRA Newswire -

Union Pacific became the safest U.S. railroad and achieved its best annual employee safety performance in the company's 154-year history in 2016. This marks the second consecutive year Union Pacific was the top-performing railroad in employee safety.

Union Pacific's safety improved 11 percent with a 0.78 reportable injury rate in 2016, compared to 0.88 in 2015. Reportable injury rates represent the number of reportable injuries submitted to the Federal Railroad Administration per 200,000 employee hours worked.

"This accomplishment reflects our employees' unwavering commitment to make safety a part of everything they do and a step toward our goal of zero accidents and injuries," said Rod Doerr, Union Pacific vice president -Safety and chief safety officer. "We are proud of our team and continue working to eliminate risks and create safer work environments every day."

More information about Union Pacific's safety, service, social and environmental efforts is available in its Building America Report.

Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio are each on the heavily-used UP rail corridors connecting Laredo with the Upper Midwest. Houston is a UP hub for six lines, linking the region with the Louisiana Gulf Coast, Midwest, West Coast, and Mexico. El Paso, San Antonio, Dallas, and Ft. Worth are also on main east-west corridors going across the southern tier of the U.S. connecting to ports at Los Angeles and Long Beach. The Sunset Route, which ultimately connects New Orleans, Louisiana to Los Angeles, California, crosses the southern portion of the state, connecting Houston, San Antonio, and El Paso.

UP also maintains automobile distribution facilities in Texas. The UP Mesquite facility has both an intermodal and an automotive terminal that are two separate operations managed by different groups and different contractors. The Mesquite, Arlington and Houston Westfield automotive terminals serve General Motors, Ford, Nissan, and Chrysler. UP also serves, but does not own or operate, the Gulf States Toyota facility across from the Westfield facility. In San Antonio, UP’s Kirby Yard handles General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler and south of San Antonio UP serves the Toyota manufacturing facility.
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 2007-2016, Union Pacific invested approximately $34 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.
(excerpts from TxDOT Rail Plan)