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Non-Tech : Union Pacific -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: All Mtn Ski who wrote (22)	9/21/1998 11:32:00 AM
From: All Mtn Ski	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 45

US DOT says Union Pacific lines could be divested WASHINGTON, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The federal government Friday raised the possibility of forcing Union Pacific <UNP.N> to divest some of its rail lines if service did not improve by the end of the year. In a submission to the Surface Transportation Board, the Department of Transportation said it did not support allowing the railroad an indefinite amount of time to restore service to the levels seen prior to its 1996 merger with Southern Pacific. The Department of Transportation (DOT) noted some improvement in service, but expressed concern that Union Pacific's performance would deteriorate in the coming months as grain and other shipments increased. "The STB should make clear that repeated service failures or a reversal in the trend of improving service may warrant corrective actions," DOT said in its submission. An STB emergency order initiated last year against Union Pacific, that allowed other railroads to compete for customers on UP tracks, expired Thursday. DOT said the lifting of that order, announced in July, was possibly premature as many customers were still denied the level of service to which they were entitled. Two summers ago the 36,000-mile Union Pacific network experienced huge delays as freight traffic became gridlocked from Texas to the West Coast. But in its own 1,000-page filing, Union Pacific called on the Surface Transportation Board to reject forced changes in the western rail network. Railroad spokesman John Bromley said the emergency order had run the full length allowable by law and service had improved, particularly in the congested Houston area. "Our operations on the Texas Gulf Coast are fluid and, in some cases, are better than they have been historically," Bromley said. (Reuters 06:09 PM ET 09/18/98) For the full text story, see infobeat.com