UP amps up use of technology to prevent derailments

When Union Pacific Railroad Executive Vice President-Operations Eric Gehringer started working at the Class I, there was no such thing as positive train control, a system designed to automatically stop a train before certain incidents occur.

"The technological advances I’ve seen within our industry are reflected in the numbers — serious derailments on Union Pacific’s network declined 26% in 2023 compared with 2019, while average maximum train length grew. And, over the past 10 years, track-related derailments declined 28%," Gehringer wrote in a UP's blog, "Inside Track."

He included a quote by National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy, who said, "We need to keep in mind rail transportation is not only cleaner and more fuel efficient than transportation on our roadways. It’s also far, far safer."

UP is responsible for maintaining a 32,000-mile network, and plans to invest $3.4 billion to continue enhancing the network and equipment in 2024.

As part of that investment, UP has more than 7,000 wayside detection devices that monitor the condition of freight cars and locomotives in real time, and the company plans to add more, according to Gehringer.

Detectors are placed across UP's network using algorithms that consider a number of factors, such as traffic density. They generate 16 million data points per day, and if a potential issue is detected, the train crew and dispatchers are alerted. Timely response helps UP address potential risk and keeps trains on track to their destination, the blog states.