Union Pacific Railroad

The Union Pacific Railroad Company is a big railroad that carries goods across the United States. It operates over 32,000 miles of tracks in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second-largest railroad in the country, after BNSF.

The company started in 1862 as part of building the first transcontinental railroad, which connected the eastern and western parts of the United States. Over time, Union Pacific grew by taking over other railroads, such as the Missouri Pacific Railroad, the Western Pacific Railroad, and the Southern Pacific Transportation Company.

Today, Union Pacific is run by Union Pacific Corporation, with its main office in the Union Pacific Center in Omaha, Nebraska. The company has plans to buy the Norfolk Southern Railway for $85 billion, which would create the first big railroad network that goes across the entire country.

History

Main article: History of the Union Pacific Railroad

Union Pacific in the 19th century

See also: First transcontinental railroad

The Union Pacific Railroad started on July 1, 1862, under a law called the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862. President Abraham Lincoln approved this law to help build a railroad from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean. This was important for keeping the country strong during the American Civil War, even though the railroad wasn’t finished until after the war ended.

The railroad was planned to go from the Nevada–Utah border to the Colorado–Kansas border. But because of requests from a man named Dr. Thomas Clark Durant, the ending point was moved to connect with the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad in Iowa. People bought shares of the railroad company, and by 1863, enough shares were sold to start building.

The railroad tracks went west from Council Bluffs, Iowa, meeting another railroad from Sacramento, California at Promontory Summit, Utah on May 10, 1869. This created the first railroad across North America. A special ceremony happened where a gold spike was placed to celebrate.

Union Pacific in the 20th century

In the early 1900s, Union Pacific focused on improving its railroad. They worked with another railroad to create a better way to transport fruits and vegetables from California without spoiling. This led to the creation of a special train system in 1906.

Union Pacific also built a new, faster route in 1904 to make travel easier. During the Great Depression, they tried to attract more travelers by improving their trains and creating special places to visit, like a ski resort in Idaho.

Union Pacific in the 21st century

In March 2024, Union Pacific had to cut down on workers, which worried safety officials. The railroad celebrated 150 years in Omaha in 2024.

One famous steam locomotive, called the Big Boy, traveled through many states in 2024 as part of a special tour. Another special locomotive honors former President George H. W. Bush and is displayed at a museum in Texas.

Proposed merger

Main article: Proposed merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern

On July 29, 2025, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern announced a plan to merge for $85 billion. If approved, this would create a very large railroad network across many states and ports in the United States.

Lobbying and political influence

In 2025, Union Pacific helped pay for tearing down a part of the White House called the East Wing. They also planned to build a big room for parties called a ballroom there.

Facilities

The Union Pacific Railroad has many places where trains stop and sort cargo. Most of these are flat areas used for moving trains around locally. Others are special spots for changing cargo between trains and trucks. Some of these special spots are near ports, while others are far inland, like the ones in San Antonio and Santa Teresa, New Mexico.

In 2006, Union Pacific had 11 big yards where trains could jump onto a slope to sort cargo quickly. These were in places like North Platte, Nebraska, Beaumont, Texas, and Fort Worth, Texas. But later, Union Pacific started using fewer of these special yards and more flat areas, following a new way of running railroads called Precision Scheduled Railroading. This change meant some older yards, like those in Kansas City, closed down.

Locomotives and rolling stock

Union Pacific has owned some of the most powerful locomotives. These include famous types like the Challenger, the Northern, and the Big Boy steam locomotives. The company also ordered the first diesel streamliner and some of the largest diesel locomotives ever built.

The yellow paint scheme for their locomotives was introduced in 1934 because it helps drivers see them better. Today, their locomotives are painted in yellow, gray, and red. Some special locomotives have different colors to honor important events or people. For example, one locomotive was painted to look like Air Force One to honor a former president, and another was painted to support the Boy Scouts of America. As of December 2023, Union Pacific had over 7,000 locomotives in use, including many different models.

Heritage equipment

Main article: Union Pacific heritage fleet

Union Pacific still uses a few old steam and diesel locomotives for special trips.

Low-emissions locomotives

Facts and figures

In 2007, the Union Pacific Railroad had over 50,000 employees, 8,721 locomotives, and 94,284 freight cars. These cars included many types such as covered hoppers, boxcars, open-top hoppers, gondolas, and other special kinds of cars. The company also owned about 6,950 pieces of equipment for keeping the tracks in good shape.

By 2019, Union Pacific was ranked 134th on the list of the largest companies in the United States. Jim Vena has been the Chief Executive Officer since August 14, 2023.

Passenger service

Commuter services

When Union Pacific bought the Chicago and North Western railroad in 1995, it took over their commuter rail services in the Chicago area. These services include the Union Pacific North Line to Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Northwest Line to Harvard, Illinois, and the West Line to Geneva, Illinois, which was later extended to Elburn, Illinois in 2006. All these trains start from the Ogilvie Transportation Center. The trains were branded and equipped as Metra services, but Union Pacific staff operated them under an agreement. In 2025, Union Pacific handed over control and operation of these Chicago commuter services to Metra, though Union Pacific still owns the tracks and manages dispatching.

Former services

Between 1869 and 1971, Union Pacific ran passenger trains along its historic Overland Route. These trains traveled between Chicago and Omaha. In 1936, they used Chicago & Northwestern tracks, but later switched to the Milwaukee Road in 1955. The last passenger train operated by Union Pacific was the westbound City of Los Angeles, which arrived in Los Angeles on May 2, 1971. Since then, Union Pacific has allowed Amtrak trains to use its tracks to meet its passenger service requirements.

Hosted trains

Many Amtrak and commuter rail routes run on Union Pacific tracks. These include:

Amtrak

• Amtrak Cascades
• California Zephyr
• Capitol Corridor
• Coast Starlight
• Gold Runner
• Lincoln Service
• Missouri River Runner
• Pacific Surfliner
• Sunset Limited
• Texas Eagle

Commuter trains

• Altamont Corridor Express
• Caltrain
• FrontRunner
• Metrolink
  • Riverside Line
  • Ventura County Line
• RTD commuter rail
  • G Line
• Trinity Railway Express

Notable accidents and safety

21st century

• In 2007, a train derailed in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, causing traffic delays.

• In 2012, two trains collided in Goodwell, Oklahoma, causing property damage.

• Also in 2012, a train hit a parade float in Midland, Texas, causing injuries.

• In 2013, a train crashed into another train in Chaffee, Missouri, injuring people and damaging a bridge.

• In 2016, an oil train derailed near Mosier, Oregon, spilling oil into a river.

• In 2018, a moving mud pot near the Salton Sea came close to a railroad, needing engineering work.

• In 2019, a train derailed in Portland, Oregon, damaging an overpass.

• In 2022, a train derailed and fell from a viaduct in Colton, California.

• In 2023, Union Pacific had to let go of some workers, leading to concerns from safety regulators.

• In 2024, a train crashed into a truck in Pecos, Texas, causing a derailment.

• In 2025, a tornado overturned train cars in Kiowa County, Kansas, but no one was hurt.

San Antonio area

In 2004, a train crashed into another train in a San Antonio suburb, causing a toxic cloud and injuries. Investigations showed safety problems, including employees not following safety rules and improper train loading. There have been many train derailments in the area over the years.

Community responsibility

The City of San Jose, California asked Union Pacific to clean up areas near their tracks in 2019. Many people had been living there, and there was also unwanted writing on the walls. Union Pacific started cleaning these areas for the first time in years that November. Some city leaders felt Union Pacific had not been a good partner.

In 2022, leaders in Utah created new rules to help towns improve railroad crossings. One town, Logan, had trouble getting improvements because Union Pacific wanted the town to pay forever for maintenance. The new rules make it easier for towns to get these improvements and clarify who should pay for upkeep. These rules were passed into law.

Environmental record

Union Pacific has worked on many projects to help the environment. In 2007, they joined with the US EPA to find ways to make train smoke cleaner. They found that special filters and cleaner fuel could make a big difference.

The company also has a program to reward train workers who save fuel, which has helped both the company and the workers. However, there have been some problems too. In 2018, an employee accidentally let out a lot of oil into a river in Oregon. And some people living near train yards have worried about health issues connected to the trains.

Union Pacific is also working to update older trains to make them cleaner and better for the environment.

Equipment Management Pool (EMP)

Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are the biggest owners of the Equipment Management Pool (EMP). EMP is a service that helps move over 35,000 large containers and support frames across North America. Other partners in this service include Canadian National Railway, I&M Rail Link, Iowa Interstate Railroad, and Wisconsin Central Ltd.. In 2022, the Canadian Pacific Railway left the group before merging with the Kansas City Southern Railway, so now only Canadian National Railway represents Canada in the pool.

Union Pacific Railroad Museum

The Union Pacific Railroad Museum is located in Council Bluffs, Iowa. It used to be a Carnegie library and now holds many interesting items about the railroad and the American West. The museum contains old weapons, items from famous outlaws, belongings of immigrants, and a huge collection of photographs with over 500,000 pictures. Union Pacific helps take care of this building, which belongs to private owners.