Railroad works to cut emissions

Union Pacific says it intends to increase use of biodiesel fuel

Union Pacific officials said the railroad will also work with locomotive manufacturers to develop battery-powered locomotives that could be used in some of its railyards, but it will likely still be several years before those are available.

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific railroad plans to expand its use of renewable fuels and explore using batterypowered locomotives in the coming years to cut its emissions of greenhouse gases.

The Omaha-based company said Monday that it plans to cut its emissions of greenhouse gases 26% by 2030 when compared with its 2018 levels.

To do that, the railroad plans to increase the amount of biodiesel it uses to 10% of all the fuel it uses by 2025, and it will continue working to reduce the amount of fuel it consumes by expanding its use of a cruise-control system on its locomotives and continuing to refurbish older locomotives to improve their efficiency.

Union Pacific officials said the railroad will also work with locomotive manufacturers to develop battery-powered locomotives that could be used in some of its railyards, but it will likely still be several years before those are available.

UP Chief Executive Officer Lance Fritz said the railroad is taking “deliberate steps to improve our environmental footprint.”

In addition to those environmental goals, railroad officials said they want to increase the diversity of Union Pacific’s workforce by doubling the number of women it employs and significantly increasing the number of minority workers it employs. By 2030, the railroad wants 11% of its employees to be women and 40% to be people of color.

Union Pacific is one of the nation’s largest railroads, and it operates 32,400 miles of track in 23 states.