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Union Pacific Railroad and Dow Chemical Co. are making strides in their joint effort to improve hazardous-material transportation safety.

The companies recently issued a progress report on eight mutually set goals, which were outlined in an agreement signed in March 2007.

By 2017 or sooner, UP and Dow aim to:
• expand the Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response, or TRANSCAER® Program;
• improve rail shipment visibility;
• develop a next-generation tank car;
• enhance supply chain design;
• eliminate non-accidental haz-mat releases;
• deploy communications-based train control, or positive train control (PTC) systems;
 • reduce the number of train movements in high-threat urban areas; and
• boost accident prevention efforts.

As of 2008’s end, the companies had made progress in all eight areas, UP and Dow said in a joint press release. The progress report includes updates on industry-wide grade crossing safety initiatives, the use of GPS sensors to track rail-car movements, UP’s PTC system tests in five states, and a collaborative effort to design a more puncture-resistant and crashworthy tank car.