Prototype News

SFRTA on Jan. 26 announced that it has received the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Gold Standard Award, “recognizing the agency’s continued commitment to transit security and preparedness.” The award was presented at the SFRTA Governing Board Meeting on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. This marks the second time SFRTA has received the recognition, having previously earned the Gold Standard Award in 2013.

“We are proud to be recognized for our efforts and remain committed to maintaining high security standards while delivering reliable regional transportation,” said SFRTA Executive Director David Dech. “We appreciate TSA’s partnership and the continued support of our security guards and law enforcement partners across the three counties served by Tri-Rail.”

TSA commended SFRTA for “achieving strong security program outcomes based on results from the agency’s most recent Baseline Assessment for Security Enhancement (BASE) review.” BASE is a TSA program that evaluates transit agencies across multiple categories to support security readiness and enhance response capabilities nationwide. The assessment focuses on 17 categories identified by the transit community as fundamental to a sound transit security program, and SFRTA achieved high scores across all categories.

SFRTA’s receipt of a second Gold Standard Award, it says, “underscores the agency’s sustained focus on security practices, continuous improvement, and coordination with local, state, and federal partners.”

Residents, elected officials, and transit leaders celebrated the opening of the first TOD housing to open in more than 20 years under the portfolio of the Santa Clara Valley VTA.  The apartments are adjacent to the Tamien Light Rail and Caltrain stations on Lick Ave in San Jose.

The Core Companies, leasing the land from VTA, built 135 apartments accessible to families and individuals earning less than 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI.) The 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom apartments, now all full, are directly adjacent to Tamien Caltrain and VTA Light Rail stations, with transit passes provided for residents of the building.

“VTA is proud to see beautiful, affordable housing go up right next to public transit, which is the lifeline for so many in our community,” said VTA General Manager and CEO Carolyn Gonot. “We are excited to have many more such projects in the pipeline to open next to our transit stations in the near future,” she said.

Half of the units in the Tamien development are allocated for rapid rehousing to help ensure those most in need have safe housing and avoid homelessness. The building includes an on-site daycare center, a fenced-in rooftop playground, a food pantry, a fitness room, and community gathering spaces. Its location adjacent to transit makes downtown San Jose, local employers, parks, and everyday conveniences easily accessible via walking, biking, or public transportation. The project also includes improvements to the nearby transit plaza, reinforcing Tamien Station as a vital transportation hub.

“Welcoming residents to Tamien Station Apartments marks a monumental milestone for the future of transit-oriented development in Santa Clara County,” said Vince Cantore, Senior Vice President of Development at The Core Companies. This community serves as a blueprint for affordable housing projects, ensuring that residents at all-income levels can enjoy amenities that enhance their quality of life. It’s an honor to partner with VTA on this development and a testament to Core’s long-standing mission to build high-quality homes across the Bay Area.”

The 1.6-acre site was previously a VTA-owned parking lot. It is now leased to Urban Co Tamien LLC, a partnership between Core and Republic Urban Properties, “generating revenue to support transit services while fulfilling VTA’s commitment to affordable housing,” the agency noted. This is the first phase of a mixed-income neighborhood development that will create a total of 555 units on this site, according to VTA.

Funding for the project comes from a mix of sources, including the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee (CDLAC), Santa Clara County’s voter-approved Measure A, the City of San Jose, and the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program.

Tamien Station TOD, the agency says, “is part of VTA’s broader effort to develop mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhoods connected by transit, supporting walkability, cycling, and long-term sustainability.” Other projects include a property next to the Berryessa Transit Center, which houses the BART station, Blossom Hill Station, Capitol Station, Branham Station, Winchester Station, and the former Evelyn Station Park and Ride lot.

The post Transit Briefs: SFRTA/Tri-Rail, Santa Clara VTA appeared first on Railway Age.

With an STB merger refiling for the acquisition of Norfolk Southern anticipated “in the coming weeks,” Union Pacific (UP) posted “a record-breaking year and delivered best-ever safety, service, and operating results in 2025,” UP CEO Jim Vena reported Jan. 27. “Our 2025 reported net income grew 6%, earnings per share increased 8%, and we improved our operating ratio. While we work through the regulatory process to create America’s first transcontinental railroad, our team is focused on driving further safety, service, and operating improvements to support growth.”

The railroad, which connects 23 states, linking major U.S. ports and Mexico gateways, was the second Class I to announce its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 financial and operations results; CSX reported them Jan. 23.

UP’s reported 2025 fourth-quarter net income was $1.8 billion and diluted EPS was $3.11. Results include industrial park land sales of $234 million, increasing diluted EPS $0.30, and $30 million of merger costs, reducing diluted EPS $0.05, according to the railroad. Adjusted fourth-quarter 2025 net income of $1.7 billion, or adjusted diluted EPS of $2.86, it said, compares to adjusted fourth-quarter 2024 net income of $1.8 billion, or adjusted diluted EPS of $2.96.

The railroad reported operating revenue of $6.1 billion, declining 1% from the prior-year period, “driven by lower volume, partially offset by core pricing gains and fuel surcharge revenue.” Revenue carloads, it said, declined 4%. The reported operating ratio came in at 60.5%, 180 basis points worse, and adjusted it was 60.0%, 190 basis points worse, according to UP.

UP reported posting “best-ever quarterly records for freight car velocity and terminal dwell and [a] record fourth quarter for train length and workforce productivity.” According to the railroad, both reportable personal injury rate and reportable derailment rate improved; freight car velocity was 239 daily miles per car, a 9% increase; average terminal dwell was 19.8 hours, a 9% improvement; average train length was 9,729 feet, a 3% increase; and workforce productivity was 1,151 car miles per employee, a 3% improvement year-over-year.

Reported full-year 2025 net income of $7.1 billion, or diluted EPS of $11.98, compares to full-year 2024 net income of $6.7 billion, or diluted EPS of $11.09, according to UP. Reported full-year net income grew 6% and full-year diluted EPS improved 8%, it said. Adjusted full-year 2025 net income of $6.9 billion, or adjusted diluted EPS of $11.66, compares to adjusted full-year 2024 net income of $6.8 billion, or adjusted diluted EPS of $11.11, with adjusted full-year net income growing 3% and adjusted diluted EPS improving 5%, according to the railroad.

Operating revenue came in at $24.5 billion for 2025, up 1% from 2024, “driven by core pricing gains and higher volume, partially offset by business mix, reduced fuel surcharge revenue, and lower other revenue,” UP reported. Freight revenue excluding fuel surcharge grew 3% and revenue carloads increased 1% from 2024. UP said that the reported operating ratio of 59.8% improved 10 basis points; adjusted, it was 59.3%, a 60 basis points improvement.

UP reported the “best ever full year for safety, freight car velocity, locomotive productivity, terminal dwell, train length, workforce productivity, and fuel consumption rate.” According to the railroad, its reportable personal injury and reportable derailment rates both improved, and the personal injury rate was “industry leading.” In 2025, freight car velocity was 225 daily miles per car, an 8% increase; locomotive productivity was 139 gross ton-miles per horsepower day, up 3%; average terminal dwell was 20.9 hours, an 8% improvement; and workforce productivity was 1,132 car miles per employee, a 7% increase from 2024.

Looking ahead, UP said it was “on track with Investor Day targets.” The railroad reported that it would meet “customer demand with strong service” during what it called a “muted economic forecast.” It also reported “pricing dollars in excess of inflation dollars”; “earnings per share growth of mid-single digit, consistent with attaining [a] three-year CAGR target of high-single digit to low-double digit through 2027”; “operating ratio improvement,” with an “industry-leading operating ratio and return on invested capital”; and “continued strong cash generation.” According to UP, it will have a capital plan of $3.3 billion in 2026, and “consistent annual dividend increases.”

Jim Vena on Jan. 27 also released a letter to employees highlighting UP priorities for 2026 and beyond, including its planned merger with NS.

“Our first priority is continuing to run a great railroad,” he wrote, in part. “This means building on our safety performance and staying in the lead as the best, with everyone returning home from work in the same condition they left. In service, we delivered what we promised our customers, and we will not lose our focus or strength when it comes to staying fluid and deploying our buffer when needed. Our marketing team is focused on using our great service product to continue growing and winning new business—and we must all do our part by controlling costs and being mindful of unnecessary expenditures. The best way we position ourselves for the future is by delivering exceptional results today.

“Our second priority is working through the regulatory process to create America’s first transcontinental railroad. We are responding to the Surface Transportation Board’s (STB) request for additional information. This is a normal procedural step we have seen in previous acquisitions that were ultimately approved. The STB’s request is focused on three key areas requiring clarification, and our team is already working to prepare that information and refile our application in the coming weeks. We view this as a short-term blip and do not expect a significant change to the timeline; we still target closing in the first half of 2027. We are following the process and doing our part to minimize unnecessary bureaucracy and move with speed.

“This team has done the work to put us in the position of strength we need to become America’s first transcontinental railroad. As you all know, at Union Pacific we like looking at things from a factual point of view instead of a personal point of view. Our customers will see an enhanced service offering that is faster to market and connects the entire United States. This means more opportunity, less costs tied to inventory and assets, and the capability to move more containers off of interstates and city roads and onto our network.

“As you know, New York Dock protection has been imposed in major transactions by the STB before, and we expect them to mandate that as a condition. New York Dock protection is limited by time and maxes out protection in a few years. We have enhanced protection so that every unionized employee working on the day the deal closes will have a job for life. That commitment does not change.

“I am proud of what we accomplished last year. As we work toward combining with Norfolk Southern, we are delivering at the highest levels and aligned on what it takes to win: driving safety, service and operating improvements to support growth—which we did by moving an additional 113,000 carloads compared to 2024.”

In a post earnings-call conversation with Railway Age, Vena addressed the merger application refiling, following the STB’s unanimous decision earlier this month rejecting, “without prejudice,” the first application as incomplete “because it does not contain certain information required by the Board’s regulations.”

UP will provide detailed information in three key areas, Vena said.

One is market share. “We have provided the information that said this is where we are as the combined railroad,” Vena told Railway Age. “And this is where we’re going to be [in terms of growth]. And we never, ever were going to get to a place that we were going to be higher than like 38% to 42% in the combined real world, with the growth, but they want us now to project market share.” The second area that will be addressed, he said, is the related application for the UP-NS acquisition of control of the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis; the STB found it to be “a significant transaction, not a minor transaction” as submitted in the original application. “Even though in the application, we said about the railroad, the TRRA, we knew that we were going to get the over 50% ownership, and we said in the application that we were going to divest to make sure that we did not have over 50%, that we were going to be less than majority owners of the TRRA, they want to have more information,” Vena said. “They want us now to formalize exactly what we would do.” The third area is what Vena called the “red line” document. “Every time you have a merger or you buy a house, you always have conditions,” he said. “If these conditions aren’t met, you get to walk away from the deal. So, with Norfolk Southern we agreed on what our conditions would be, that Union Pacific would have an option to walk away. And really, what that has to do with the merits of a merger, I cannot figure it out … I cannot figure out what that has to do with the merits of a combined railroad, and what we do for customers, what we do for the nation, and what we do for our employees, but they’ve asked for it, so I guess we give it, and they’ll know, the other railroads, where our red line is, and the public on what we’re willing to put up with to be able to close the deal. Seems odd that we have to give that, but they asked for that, and we’ll give it to them.”

While Vena said there isn’t a “definitive date” for refiling, he anticipates “sometime in March.” It’s a “very short delay,” he pointed out. “We put the application in in five months instead of six. So we tried to do that to speed up the process and get it done.”

Vena also told Railway Age that UP’s safety and service in 2025 were among the high points of its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 report, which the railroad will build on in 2026. In terms of the capex, he said the railroad will continue modernizing locomotives and investing in the physical plant, in efficiency, and in capacity for growth.

For more financial and operations results, visit the Investors section of the UP website.

The post For UP, a ‘Record-Breaking Year’ appeared first on Railway Age.

This new commemorative locomotive, UP says, pays tribute to the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the founding of the nation. The locomotive will feature the emblem of the America250 Semiquincentennial Commission, the national nonpartisan organization established by Congress to lead the nation’s 250th anniversary.

“We are proud to honor our nation’s great history and legacy of innovation with our heritage locomotives. For the first time, we will share the Big Boy with communities on the East Coast, operating it from ocean to ocean,” said CEO Jim Vena. “America has never been afraid to dream about what’s possible – and neither is Union Pacific as we carry the grain that feeds families, the steel that builds cities and the household goods that stock store shelves.”

The first leg of the tour starts March 29, with the Big Boy and several historical passenger cars from UP’s Heritage Fleet traveling west to California from Cheyenne, Wyo., the steam locomotive’s homebase. The tour ends April 24 in Cheyenne.

Two major public display days are set:

• April 10-11: Roseville, California
• April 18-19: Ogden, Utah

The tour will be a tribute to the vital role railroads have played in helping build and unify America while showcasing the innovative history of the rail industry, UP noted. Since 1862, when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act and created UP, “railroads have connected the nation, supporting its industrial and manufacturing sector and spurring the growth of new industries,” the Class I said.

The eastern leg of the tour, anticipated to start in late spring, is still being finalized and will be announced soon. More information is available here.

“UP’s Big Boy No. 4014 is one of the most iconic steam engines ever built and was designed to haul heavy freight over steep grades during World War II. It represents the pinnacle of steam technology and is a powerful symbol of America’s industrial might,” UP said.

The post UP’s Big Boy Celebrates America’s 250th Birthday With Coast-to-Coast Tour appeared first on Railway Age.

The plan total is down 5% from the 2025 plan’s $3.8 billion total, which included $2.4 billion for maintenance and $535 million for expansion and efficiency projects. It is down 8% from the 2024 plan’s $3.92 billion total.

Maintenance projects in 2026 will again cover replacing and upgrading rail and track infrastructure like ballast and ties, and maintaining rolling stock. They will comprise approximately 13,000 miles of track surfacing and/or undercutting work and the replacement of 2.5 million ties and more than 400 miles of rail, according to BNSF, which operates a rail network of 32,500 route miles in 28 states and three Canadian provinces (see map below).

The $358 million for expansion and efficiency projects in 2026 will add to the $2.6 billion invested in expansion projects over the past five years. This year’s expansion plans, BNSF said, support customer growth “by continuing to invest in facility and line projects that will increase network capacity and efficiency.” Major facility projects include completing property acquisitions and continuing development activities for the planned Barstow International Gateway project in California and continuing development and starting construction activities for a future intermodal facility in the Phoenix area, according to the railroad. Major line expansion projects include Galesburg, Ill., and Winslow, Ariz., yard track expansions “to increase switching capacity, supporting network service performance and asset (railcars and locomotives) productivity initiatives,” it reported.

“Our 2026 capital plan focuses on strengthening and modernizing our network so we can continue to meet our customers’ evolving needs,” BNSF President and CEO Katie Farmer said. “We prioritize investing with the future in mind, improving efficiency, adding capacity, and ensuring our railroad is always ready to support growth while delivering the dependable, resilient service our customers count on.”

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• BNSF, CSX Offering More, ‘Faster’ Coast-to-Coast Service

The post For BNSF, a $3.6B Capital Plan appeared first on Railway Age.

OmniTRAX announced Jan. 27 that Ryan Dreier has been named Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). Dreier joined OmniTRAX as Executive Vice President in 2025, following an extensive career at BNSF Railway. In his new role, Dreier will oversee all aspects of OmniTRAX commercial strategy, sales operations, transload, and new business development.

Prior to joining OmniTRAX, Dreier served as BNSF Railway’s Vice President of Industrial Products Marketing, leading all marketing and sales across a large and diverse portfolio of carload commodities including food products, building and construction materials, dimensional components, and chemical and petroleum products.

“OmniTRAX’s ability to provide trusted, tailored service has fueled our record-setting growth,” said OmniTRAX CEO Colby Tanner. “As we continue to add new markets and new operations, Ryan’s industry relationships and national network experience will play an invaluable role in bringing new customers to rail.”

OmniTRAX has grown more than 50% in the past five years, adding new customers and serving new markets. In addition to the company’s record volumes, the rail network has added industry giants and Fortune 500 clients that include The Home Depot, Clorox, CMC Steel, Tata Chemicals and WE Soda.  

“As global and domestic supply chains continue to evolve, rail service provides expanded market access and critical connectivity,” said Dreier. “By combining our rail and real estate resources with industry-leading service, OmniTRAX delivers exceptional operational efficiency to our customers across industry.”

Dreier earned an MBA from Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Kansas.

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