OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific Railroad’s Pipeline Express service has reached a milestone by delivering its 25,000th rail car of customer product.
Formed in 2005, Pipeline Express has grown from moving approximately 1,700 rail cars in its first year to nearly 8,000 for its customers through year-end 2008.
Pipeline Express serves the steel pipeline industry for oil and gas producers with truck-competitive transit times and a rail network that aligns well geographically with new pipeline projects. Union Pacific’s site selection support for customers is unmatched in the industry.
“By offering the best value proposition to the natural gas industry, Union Pacific has emerged as the clear transportation choice,” said Greg Shimonek, senior business director for the railroad’s Pipeline Express service. “Our carloads tell the story.”
Natural gas reserves are expected to grow 39 percent from 2007 levels by the end of 2009, according to the Energy Information Administration. Having invested nearly $17 billion in its rail network since 2005, Union Pacific is ready to serve that growth.
“We have the industry’s largest fleet of 89-foot flat cars capable of hauling 100 tons of pipe,” Shimonek said. “That’s greater than 40 percent more capacity in terms of weight than most of the cars our competitors offer.”
Union Pacific provides additional values to customers including:
- The ability to carry 9 to 11 pipes on a single rail car compared 7 to 8 for other rail carriers and just two per truck.
- Unit trains that increase delivery speed and reduce delivery variability to hours instead of days compared to regular trains.
- Daily logistics reports that can pinpoint product location along the delivery route, starting when the pipe leaves the mill.
- Single point of customer contact for the total transportation cycle.
Combined with its rail network investments, services such as Pipeline Express have helped Union Pacific achieve all-time highs in customer satisfaction and record network velocity.
