(The Associated Press circulated the following story on April 6.)
PORTLAND, Ore. — Union Pacific Corp.’s persistent rail capacity problems are taking a deep toll on businesses across the Northwest.
The nation’s biggest railroad has taken the unprecedented step of asking some customers along its 33,000-mile system to scale back their shipments at least temporarily.
Union Pacific blames its congestion woes, which began late last fall, on an improving economy and a rash of early retirements thanks to changes in federal retirement regulations for railroad employees. The change, which went into effect in 2001, left Union Pacific short of experienced crews.
As a result, trains in Oregon and Washington have frequently been left dead in their tracks, short of their destination, because crews reach their work limit under federal law of 12 hours a shift.
The Omaha, Neb.-based railroad has responded with a recruiting spree, hiring more than 1,600 new train service workers nationwide in January and February. That’s more than the 1,500 workers it hired all of last year.
But the impact won’t be seen immediately by harried customers, a Union Pacific spokeswoman said Monday, because training the new employees takes at least four months.
Rail customers and industry observers say Union Pacific’s crew shortages and track congestion in Oregon have actually improved in the last month, even as they’ve worsened elsewhere. The problem is especially acute in California and the Southwest.
But Union Pacific isn’t out of the sticks in the Northwest, either.
Wait times for freight cars at the railroad’s yard in Hinkle, near Pendleton, a key transfer point for freight moving in and out of the Northwest, rose throughout March. Meanwhile, train speeds systemwide are declining, a sign of continued congestion on the rails.
Slowdowns in the Los Angeles area and throughout the Southwest have also triggered service disruptions in Oregon.
“The crew shortages in the Pacific Northwest appear to have gotten better,” said Ron Vincent, vice president of customer service for Portland & Western Railroad, which delivers 60,000 cars each year between Union Pacific and customers in northwestern Oregon. “The problems now have shifted to the L.A. area, and, of course, there’s residual affects from that.”
Timber operators around Oregon have had to curb operations and stockpile lumber inventories because of problems getting timely service and recovering cars caught in Union Pacific’s congestion. Other companies have been told by Union Pacific that they should make more shipments by truck rather than rail to help relieve congestion.
“If they have certain timing demands, and we don’t feel we can meet them right now, we’re suggesting that they look at trucks,” said Kathryn Blackwell, a Union Pacific spokeswoman. “We hope that’s a temporary situation we have.”
(Information from: The Oregonian)