(The following story by Judy McClintock appeared on the Statesman Journal website on July 17.)
SALEM, Ore. — Passenger and freight trains along Union Pacific railroad tracks have been experiencing significant delays since last fall in the Northwest.
“It is absolutely ridiculous,” Amtrak customer Al Eckerman said as he waited for a late train at the Salem Amtrak station. “I waited for a pick-up in Chemult for four hours the other day.”
Jeri Cissna, who lingered at the Salem station for almost two hours for a late train, said, “It could be coordinated much better.”
Some passengers expressed frustration, but others think that the tardiness comes with the territory of rail traveling.
“The train is late every time,” passenger Shoko Yamazaki said. “I knew that, and it’s OK for me.”
The West Coast has been the most problematic area in the past few months, said John Bromley, director of public affairs for Union Pacific.
Delays are most concentrated with trains traveling south of Portland on tracks owned by Union Pacific, said Jonathan Hutchison, Intercity Passenger Rail Coordinator for Oregon.
Hutchison cited several reasons for the delays: shortage of crews; increase in business; shortage of locomotives; and infrastructure problems.
Shortage of crews is the most significant factor in causing rail delays, Bromley said.
“The Portland area has been specifically hard hit,” he said. “The real driver in these delays is the manpower shortage.”
The economic rebound has coupled with a large number of Union Pacific retirees to cause the staff shortage, Bromley said.
“Union Pacific underestimated the number of retirees they had,” Hutchison said.
An increase in retiring conductors and engineers was spurred by a policy passed by the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board in December of 2001, said Mark Davis, Regional Director of Public Relations for Union Pacific.
The new policy allowed employees who had put in 30 years of consecutive service to retire at age 60 instead of 62. “Many chose to retire early,” Davis said.
Union Pacific’s staffing shortage has caused an aggressive hiring program to be enacted, Bromley said.
“Last year, we hired about 2,400 people,” he said. “This year, we are hoping for 4,500 new hires.”
The hiring is expected to be a gradual process, Bromley said.
“We anticipate an aggressive hiring program over the next four years,” he said.
In addition to hiring, Union Pacific is busy purchasing new locomotives, Bromley said.
“We are acquiring locomotives as fast as the manufacturers are handing them out.”
The Union Pacific railway that travels south of Portland through to California, with stops in Salem and Eugene, is a single track line and is compounding traffic-related rail delays.
“There is an overload of trains,” Bromley said.
He added that when a single-track line is overloaded, trains are forced to park on the side as other trains pass through.
“We try to give priority to passenger trains, like Amtrak, but sometimes it makes sense to hold an Amtrak train to clear out a number of freight trains,” Bromley said.
To alleviate the traffic jams, Union Pacific, whose rail network covers 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country, said it will now limit car loadings and the overall inventory of railcars in key corridors.
Lines between Seattle and Roseville, Calif; Los Angeles and El Paso, Texas; Los Angeles and Salt Lake City; and the central corridor through Iowa and Illinois are expected to see these limits enforced immediately as the railroad enters its peak season.
The regulations will include limiting the shipment of rock materials in Texas, where Union Pacific receives most of its rock and aggregate materials, consolidating selected automobile and chemical trains; regulating the volume of selected farm commodities; and limiting the number of train starts.
Keeping down the number of train starts will help to alleviate congestion at terminals, Davis said. Trains will only depart if their destination terminal can accommodate them.
Union Pacific also will apply surcharges to freight suppliers, beginning Aug. 17, for certain shipments out of the West Coast.
Surcharges, which are not unusual in the rail business, will affect the specific rim commodities coming into the country, primarily Asian goods, Davis said.
Although many efforts are being made by Union Pacific to ease delay problems, the issue is expected to be a long range one, Bromley said.
“We appreciate the patience of the passengers,” he said, “We are working as hard as we can.”