Union Pacific announces $7 million in upgrades to St. Paul to Hudson line

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Union Pacific Railroad announced Wednesday, Aug. 17, that it will spend $7 million to improve its rail line between St. Paul and Hudson.

The nearly 24-mile project will involve removing old rail and installing new rail, as well as replacing more than 40,000 ties.

The surfaces at 26 road crossings will be upgraded, and crews will spread 12,850 tons of rock ballast to provide a more stable roadbed.

A news release from the railroad said Union Pacific plans to invest approximately $3.3 billion in capital improvements during 2011.

The improvements will support the nation’s current and future freight transportation needs and enhance the safety and efficiency of Union Pacific’s 32,000-mile network, the railroad said.

Union Pacific cited the St. Paul to Hudson project as an example of its continuing effort to support its customers.

According to the Association of American Railroads, America’s largest railroads keep pace with the top nine states in terms of highway spending, and they do it with private, not taxpayer, money.

In 2010, capital spending by Class I railroads totaled $9.8 billion, and the industry plans to make $12 billion in capital spending during 2011.

All told, freight rail companies have invested $480 billion to maintain and modernize the national rail network since 1980, according to the Union Pacific news release.

“Improved and additional rail capacity benefits everyone. It allows freight rail service to grow, helping to build a cleaner environment,” the news release said.

Union Pacific said it can move one ton of freight nearly 500 miles on a single gallon of diesel fuel, and, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, freight trains are nearly four times more fuel efficient than trucks.

Motorists also benefit from reduced congestion on highways as a single Union Pacific train can remove up to 300 trucks off our roads, the railroad said.

Union Pacific Corp., parent company of the railroad, is one of America's leading transportation companies.

The railroad links 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country and serves many of the fastest-growing U.S. population centers. Its diversified business mix includes agricultural products, automotive, chemicals, energy, industrial products and intermodal.

The railroad offers routes from all the major West Coast and Gulf Coast ports to eastern gateways. Union Pacific connects with Canada's rail systems and is the only railroad serving all six major gateways to Mexico.

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