(Omaha) U.S. federal inspectors say they have discovered an alarming number of defects in the locomotives and rail cars that the Union Pacific (UP) railroad used this summer at the world’s largest rail yard, in the western Nebraska, and the company was reluctant to fix the issues.
Federal Railways Administrator Amit Bose on Friday wrote a letter to UP’s top three leaders, expressing concern that the defects pose a “significant risk to railway safety.”
Mr. Bose said the defect rate of 19.93% on wagons and the rate of 72.69% on locomotives found by inspectors in July and August are each twice the national average. The letter does not detail the type of defects inspectors found at the Bailey rail yard in North Platte, and there are otherwise a host of federal rules.
“The compliance of rolling stock (freight wagons and locomotives) on the UP network is poor, and UP has been unwilling or unable to take steps to improve the condition of its equipment,” Mr. Bose said in his letter.
Mr. Bose wondered whether the recent layoffs of 94 locomotive engineers and 44 car drivers at the Omaha, Nebraska, railroad, one of the nation’s largest, had left the U.P. without enough personnel to carry out the necessary repairs.
Kristen South, a spokesperson for Union Pacific, assured Sunday that the layoffs were not a problem and that the railroad remained committed to ensuring safety.
“Union Pacific will never compromise on the safety of our employees. Safety is always our first priority, and we are reviewing and will address concerns raised by the (Federal Railroad Administration),” Mr.me South.
Rail safety has been a major concern nationwide this year since another railroad, owned by Norfolk Southern, derailed and caught fire in eastern Ohio in February. That derailment in East Palestine, a village in Ohio, prompted regulators and members of Congress to call for reforms, but few significant changes have been made since then.
Mme South said the railroad has appropriate staffing levels and sufficient capacity to provide “headroom to accommodate the natural ebbs and flows of our business.”
The layoffs announced by UP late last month came after the Federal Railroad Administration completed its inspection, and they represent a tiny fraction of the railroad’s workforce, which numbers more than 30 000 people.
New Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena took over as helm of the railroad last month. Union Pacific has a network of 52,000 kilometers of railroads in 23 western states.