UP's Texas troubles continue in weeks following STB's emergency order extension (January 1998)
1/9/2023Rail executives, shippers and industry observers generally haven't been sure how to assess Union Pacific Railroad's weekly reports to the Surface Transportation Board regarding the railroad's progress on the service recovery front. But, as of press time, progress — particularly in the Gulf Coast — appeared to be a ways off.
UP reported less-than-stellar recovery results last month, particularly in the weeks immediately following the STB's decision to extends its Nov. 3 emergency order to relieve rail congestion in the West.
On Dec. 5, STB extended by 90 days — until March 15 — the order permitting the Texas Mexican Railway to handle UP traffic in Houston. Despite showing signs of improvement, UP's recovery was "not broad enough in scope," STB concluded.
UP had lobbied for a 30-day order extension; some shippers had pushed for 240 days. STB selected an extension that "would be between those extremes."
In extending the order, the board also:
• required UP to "release fully" all shippers in the Houston switching district, allowing them to route traffic over Burlington Northern Santa Fe, in addition to UP or the Tex Mex;
• gave BNSF and Tex Mex representatives complete access to UP's Spring, Texas, dispatching facility;
• directed UP and BNSF to meet with agricultural representatives and establish priorities for the shipping of grain;
• required UP to prepare more focused weekly reports; and
• directed UP to "follow through on commitments ... regarding assistance from other carriers" and identify arrangements that could "facilitate the service recovery."
Not long after the emergency order extension, UP's recovery effort hit a few rough spots.
For the weeks ending Dec. 12 and 19, the railroad "experienced a deterioration in service" in the Gulf Coast area, due in part to new crew implementation agreements and a TCS system transition, UP told STB.
UP says there were other reasons for the service lag: UP personnel and shippers had to learn to operate new routes and use new tools; a breakdown in blocking by CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern for UP; crew availability issues; and the increase in empty cars in the Gulf Coast.
Not all UP's December news was disconcerting. In its Dec. 19 report to STB, UP revealed that loaded coal trains out of the Powder River Basin continued to average more than 25 per day, and that service in southern California continued to improve. The railroad also began to resume intermodal service in phases between Chicago and Texas.
But the STB isn't the only constituency UP needs to convince. On Dec. 17, the railroad took out ads in 34 newspapers to let people know the recovery plan is working. The ads included the UP logo framed by the phrase "Comin' Back." No more ads are planned, says UP spokesman Ed Trandahl.
— Pat Foran, Managing Editor
Source: The January 1988 issue of Progressive Railroading