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Union Pacific reminds drivers to be careful at railroad crossings while traveling this Memorial Day weekend

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[May 26, 2012]  OMAHA -- Union Pacific Railroad reminds drivers to use caution at railroad crossings while traveling in their vehicles this Memorial Day weekend.

"With the Memorial Day weekend being one of the busiest vehicle travel days during the year, we want drivers to use caution when they cross railroad tracks and safely arrive at their destinations," said Robert Morrison, Union Pacific chief of police.

"It can take a mile or more for a train to stop, and by the time a locomotive engineer sees a vehicle on the crossing, it is too late to stop," said Dale Bray, Union Pacific director of public safety.

Union Pacific has reduced grade crossing incidents by 37 percent across its rail network since 2001. The railroad is committed to public safety through various outreach channels such as community events, media, Union Pacific Railroad police, employee resource groups and Operation Lifesaver. The public safety initiative Union Pacific Crossing Accident Reduction Education and Safety, known as UP CARES, brings together communities in a collaborative and caring effort to promote railroad grade crossing and pedestrian safety.


UP CARES activities include:

  • Grade crossing enforcement with local, county and state law enforcement agencies.

  • Safety trains that provide local officials a firsthand look at what locomotive engineers see daily while they operate trains through a community.

  • Communication blitzes that educate the community at events or through media outreach.

While there has been a more than 80 percent reduction across the rail industry in crossing collisions since 1972, tragically, 265 people died and 980 were injured in 2011 as a result of a grade crossing collisions throughout the United States, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. (See 2011 statistics at right.)

For more information about grade crossing safety, visit ibrakefortrains.com.

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About Union Pacific: It was 150 years ago that Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act of July 1, 1862, creating the original Union Pacific. One of America's iconic
companies, today Union Pacific Railroad is the principal operating company of Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP), linking 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country by rail and providing freight service and logistics to the global supply chain. Union Pacific's business mix includes agricultural products, automotive, chemicals, energy, industrial products and intermodal transport.

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Note: 2011 statistics include all railroad trespasser injuries and fatalities for each of the states in the Union Pacific Railroad Northern Region.

 

Injuries

Fatalities

Colorado

6

2

Illinois

68

19

Iowa

23

2

Kansas

11

13

Minnesota

19

5

Missouri

20

12

Nebraska

14

3

Wisconsin

16

7

Wyoming

0

0

[Text from file received from Union Pacific]

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