Railroad giant Union Pacific says this year it’s going to spend more than $77 million on Oregon railways. Last year, they agreed to more improvements and inspections after a disastrous derailment in Mosier…and the discovery of over 800 potential violations nationwide by the Federal Railroad Administration. KLCC’s Brian Bull reports.
This year’s investment is part of an ongoing push to replace and maintain railroad tracks. Since 2012, Union Pacific spent more than $300 million in Oregon to help improve safety and efficiency.
Justin Jacobs is Union Pacific’s spokesman. He says part of this year’s improvements include replacing 21 miles of rail between Klamath Falls and Chemult. Another will be nearly 90,000 railroad ties between Huntington and Caldwell, Idaho.
“And then finally one of the other big projects is a more $14 million investment between Oakridge and Portland," Jacobs tells KLCC. "Again, it’s a railroad tie replacement project where we’ll replace more than 100,000 ties.”
Union Pacific says it’s invested $51 billion into its railway network since 2000, which they attribute to a 40 percent drop in derailments.
Copyright 2017, KLCC.