UP consolidates Pocatello service unit, increases track speed in Iowa

Union Pacific Railroad is consolidating management at the Pocatello, Idaho, service unit with the Portland, Ore., and Utah service units effective April 1, the Class I announced yesterday.

Five management positions will be reassigned to other locations, as the railroad aligns operations to meet customer demand and marketplace shifts, UP officials said in a press release.

Transportation, engineering, mechanical, maintenance and other operations will remain in place. The realignment will result in an operating structure similar to pre-2005 Idaho, company officials said.

The Pocatello Depot will remain an operational structure, where UP crews will continue to carry out normal operations.

Meanwhile, UP also announced yesterday that it will increase the maximum track speed limit to 49 mph from 40 mph next month on the rail line that runs parallel to Highway 60 in northwest Iowa.

Beginning this week, train speeds at Sibley, Ashton, Sheldon and Hospers crossings will increase in weekly 5 mph increments until reaching the 49 mph speed limit April 1.

The speed limit increase follows a tie and rail improvement project completed in October 2015. UP plans to spend $68 million on infrastructure in Iowa this year, according to a UP press release.