Record-Setting Results: Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern Build on Strong Safety Cultures

New Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) safety data — highlighted by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) — shows 2025 was the safest year on record for the rail industry, with improvements across almost every safety metric. That progress reflects sustained safety efforts across freight rail, including strong performance already underway at Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern and shows how a combined company can accelerate that momentum.

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Rail remains the safest way to move freight over land — truck incident rates are 6.84 per 100 million gross ton miles, compared to only 0.45 for railroads. With shared best practices, expanded training and continued investment in proven technologies, America’s first transcontinental railroad will be positioned to deliver even greater, data-driven safety gains across the coast-to-coast network.

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Union Pacific: A proven strategy delivering historic results

In 2025, Union Pacific delivered its best-ever full-year personal injury and derailment incidentrates, improving 24% and 19% year-over-year, respectively. The results are rooted in a safety focused mindset organized around four pillars:

• Go Home Safe Culture: A focus on critical rules supported by training drives consistent, safe execution and a culture that empowers employees to speak up when they see unsafe behaviors.
• Technology-Enabled Risk Reduction: Proactively using technology to spot potential risk earlier strengthens prevention and reliability across the network.
• Field-Based Learning and Coaching: On-the-ground engagement reinforces understanding and rules compliance in real-world environments, supporting safer and more consistent operations.
• Continuous Improvement Through Safety Systems: An integrated safety management system connects rules, training, technology and field practices in a single framework to promote consistency, identify emerging risk, reinforce accountability and drive continuous improvement.

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“For the first time in my more than 30-year career, we’ve cut serious injuries in half,” said Rod Doerr, chief safety officer for Union Pacific. “I’m incredibly proud of our team and the fact that more people are going home safely.”

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A Union Pacific Transportation employee reviews safety protocols with a new hire at a California intermodal terminal, including how remote-control power switch technology helps safely and efficiently sort rail cars across the network.

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Norfolk Southern: A people-first culture delivering year-over-year improvements

Norfolk Southern's 2025 safety results are the product of a focus on training and technology combined with a safety grounded in high expectations, clear communication, mutual accountability, follow-through and a shared commitment to our standards.

• Speak Up culture: Employees are empowered to call out potential risks, ask questions and share ideas with confidence that concerns will be heard and addressed.
• Stop Work Authority: Safety is a shared responsibility and every employee is obligated to halt work immediately if questions or concerns arise or if safety is compromised.
• Committed Leadership: Supervisors know that Deeds Matter taking action when issues are raised, following up on potential risks and driving meaningful safety improvements.
• Continuous Learning and Intentional Practice: The Thoroughbred Academyensures safety leadership, learning and action reach every part of the railroad.

"Continuous safety improvement doesn't come from one initiative or lean on a single year of performance," said John Fleps, Chief Safety Officer for Norfolk Southern. "It comes from daily curiosity, extreme ownership, consistent operational execution, strong partnerships and thousands of professional railroaders who take pride in honoring the standard every day."

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A Norfolk Southern employee evaluates information transmitted by the company's Autonomous Track Geometry Measurement System.

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Raising the bar: accelerating learning and scaling what works

Bringing together two safety-focused railroads will accelerate progress by scaling proven best practices across a unified Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern network, ensuring safety remains at the center of how essential goods move across the economy.

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