Union Pacific making tracks for Texarkana

Union Pacific will invest $12 million in the rail line between Texarkana and Pine Bluff, company officials announced recently.

This includes replacing 91,854 railroad ties and installing 26,021 tons of rock ballast.

Another $19 million will be invested between Atkins and Mulberry to replace 42 miles of rail.

The company says it will invest $127 million in infrastructure in Arkansas this year, enhancing safety, operating efficiency and customer service. This capital expenditure is part of the company’s ongoing investment strategy.

Between 2013 and 2017, Union Pacific invested more than $584 million in Arkansas’ transportation infrastructure, according to a company press release.

“Our targeted investments support customers and enhance our efficiency to deliver the goods American businesses and families use daily,” said Brenda Mainwaring, Union Pacific assistant vice president public affairs, Southern Region.

Union Pacific plans to spend $3.3 billion across its network this year, following investments totaling approximately $34 billion from 2008-2017.

Union Pacific tracks— built without taxpayer funds, officials point out— reduce traffic on Arkansas’ highways.

A single Union Pacific train can carry as much freight as 300 trucks and move one ton of freight 452 miles on a single gallon of diesel, generating a carbon footprint that is 75 percent less than trucks.

The company’s planned investment in the state covers a range of initiatives, including $103 million to maintain railroad track and $9.6 million to maintain bridges.

Union Pacific Railroad connects 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country by rail.