UP suspends use of traffic-control embargoes

Union Pacific Railroad is pausing its use of embargoes to address rail traffic congestion, UP Chairman, President and CEO Lance Fritz stated in a Dec. 16 letter to the Surface Transportation Board.

Fritz’s letter arrived on the heels of an STB hearing held Dec. 13-14 on UP’s use of embargoes to control traffic congestion on its network. The board scheduled the hearing after receiving several complaints from shippers about the practice, alleging it had a negative impact on their companies.

In his brief letter to STB Chairman Martin Oberman, Fritz stated he appreciated the feedback received from customers and the board during the hearing.

"I assure you, we are taking a hard look at our use of congestion-related embargoes," Fritz wrote. “To facilitate that hard look, we are immediately pausing any additional embargoes under the pipeline inventory management program that we began in November.”

UP will provide more information on the subject "in the coming days," the letter states.

To learn more about the STB hearing on the matter, read this story posted on Progressive Railroading's RailPrime, a premium subscription-based service featuring exclusive freight-rail news and information.