Union Pacific is Taking Action and Working with Communities on Blocked Crossings

Chicago is known as "America's railroad capital" for good reason. This bustling trade center is served by all six of North America's Class 1 railroads, with an estimated 1,300 freight and passenger trains passing through the metropolitan area each day.

It's one of the busiest rail hubs in North America and I know it well, having worked in Chicagoland for seven years, overseeing Union Pacific Railroad's Public Affairs and community relations programs.

In August 2022, I moved to Omaha, Nebraska, assuming a new role for the railroad, but I think about Chicago often, especially when the issue of blocked crossings arises or I'm thinking about the relationship between a community's economic health and its access to rail.

The truth is a vibrant transportation network is a critical component of any region's economic health. An efficient railroad network allows businesses to reach broader markets, while supplying the goods and supplies needed to build and maintain communities.

It's one of the reasons so many towns and communities have grown up around railroad tracks, which can sometimes create challenges for both communities and railroads, including occupied or blocked crossings.

Union Pacific understands the frustrations that can come when trains occupy crossings, and we are working on several fronts to develop and implement initiatives to reduce concerns in communities where we operate, including identifying the most impacted crossings on our network and ways to take action.

Long-term solutions to a community's occupied crossings issues must begin at the state and/or local level in partnership with railroads. When public and private entities work together, the result is enhanced safety, greater efficiency and ability to accommodate growth vital to local economies, while simultaneously reducing delays for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.

Chicago is a good example of what I'm talking about, because like many cities, its growth is intertwined with railroads.

The first locomotive operated in the Windy City less than a decade after it was officially incorporated in 1837, quickly followed with businesses and neighborhoods sprouting up along the tracks, competing for access to rail.

As the city grew, so did its rail infrastructure, leading to congestion and transportation circulation issues.

In 2003, governments and railroads joined together in a bold move to work jointly on some of these issues, launching the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE).

CREATE is the largest public-private partnership between the rail industry and governments in America. Its members include the Class I railroads, Amtrak, Metra, the State of Illinois, the City of Chicago, Cook County and several federal agencies. Together, CREATE partners advocate and secure funding for capital infrastructure projects throughout the Chicago area - projects that allow both freight and commuter rail growth, while working to improve fluidity in the community.

Of the 70 CREATE projects, 34 are complete, separating vehicle and train traffic at crossings with new roadway overpasses and underpasses, improving viaducts, and providing extensive track, switch and signal upgrades.

CREATE hasn't solved all of Chicago's transportation issues, but it's clearly helped. For example, over the last year, the Federal Railroad Administration has received approximately 334 calls about blocked crossings in Chicago, compared with 5,610 in Houston.

To look at it another way, Cook County in Illinois has 67% more grade-separated crossings than Harris County in Texas. Grade separated crossings improve traffic flow by separating railroad and vehicle traffic using overpasses or underpasses.

In fact, Houston has the highest number of railroad crossings on Union Pacific's 32,000-mile network. Given this challenge, Union Pacific is committed to actively working with Houston and the nearly 7,300 communities we serve.

Earlier this year, for example, we created a cross-functional team tasked with leveraging technology and using real-time data to reduce occupied crossing occurrences.

The team identified 25 crossings in Houston that are important for vehicle mobility, emergency services and schools, and is using data to find solutions. We created automated alerts when one of these crossings is occupied, providing operating and dispatch with real-time feedback that prompts quick action to help resolve the issue.

Finally, we are reminding and working with communities to secure federal funding, which is at an all-time high thanks to a 2021 federal bill that set aside $5 billion to help communities nationwide separate roadway and train traffic.

The bottom line is Union Pacific is in the business of keeping trains and, by extension, local economies on the move. It's in all our interests to work together to find solutions and to improve fluidity within our nation's supply chain.

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