UP kicks off Brazos Yard construction

Union Pacific Railroad began construction this month on the Brazos Yard in Robertson County, Texas.

The $550 million rail yard project represents the largest capital investment in a single facility in the railroad's 155-year history, UP officials said in a press release.

Map of Brazos Yard

Photo – UP's Twitter account

Brazos Yard will have the have the capacity to switch up to 1,300 rail cars per day, making it one of the highest capacity yards on UP's 23-state network, they said.

As the first yard of its kind that will be built in more than a generation, the yard will showcase best practices in operating efficiency, technology and innovation, UP officials added.

The project is expected to be completed in 2020.

Brazos Yard will enable UP to serve customers that represent a wide variety of economic drivers across Texas, including cross border traffic, petrochemicals, consumer goods and plastics, UP officials said.

"This project has been an important part of Union Pacific's planning for several years as we've monitored customer demand and economic growth across the region," said Brenda Mainwaring, assistant vice-president public affairs.

Brazos Yard will function as a classification yard where rail cars are separated and sorted by destination before being assembled into new trains headed across the country. The site sits at the convergence of seven UP rail lines, making it a strategic point for freight-rail traffic traveling heading in all directions.