UP achieves best performance for 2016 employee safety

Last year, Union Pacific Railroad became the safest U.S. railroad and achieved its best annual employee safety performance in the company's 154-year history, the Class I announced yesterday.

UP'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, according to a UP press release.

It was the second consecutive year that UP was the top-performing railroad in employee safety, UP officials said.

"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, UP 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."