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On May 17, officials from Union Pacific Railroad and the National Industrial Transportation League (NITL) plan to hold a forum in San Francisco to review the railroad's service problems, describe steps UP is taking to remedy the situation and address shippers' concerns.

UP Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dick Davidson, and Executive Vice President of Marketing and Sales Jack Koraleski will attend the meeting, along with other senior managers. NITL President John Ficker and Surface Transportation Board Chairman Roger Nober also plan to attend.

UP officers will make a presentation describing the railroad's current service levels, how the Class I plans to make system improvements and how shippers can help ensure safe freight moves. An open forum will follow to enable shipper representatives to voice concerns and ask questions.

Between October and March, a crew shortage and traffic increase caused congestion on UP's western network. Last month, the railroad's velocity averaged 20.7 mph and terminal dwell time averaged more than 37 hours.

To date, the Class I has hired about 2,000 train and engine-service workers, added about 300 new and leased locomotives, created customer service centers in Phoenix and West Colton, Calif., built temporary transloading facilities in Arizona and California to keep more rail cars out of congested yards, and reconstructed yard tracks to add capacity. As of May 4, UP had increased average velocity to 21.6 mph and reduced average terminal dwell time to 34.5 hours.