STB chastises UP for delays in responding to info requests

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board today closed the book on its investigation of Union Pacific’s record use of congestion-related embargoes in 2022 – but not before scolding the railroad for failing to comply with board orders and requests for information.

“UP’s conduct in this regard bordered on the contumacious and cannot be viewed as acceptable conduct by a railroad subject to the Board’s statutory authority,” the STB said in its decision. “Contumacious” is defined as “stubbornly disobedient,” according to Merriam Webster.

The STB cited UP’s initial “insufficient response” to a request for information in advance of a two-day hearing that was scheduled for December 2022. During the hearing, UP executives referred to embargo-related documents that they should have previously provided to the board, the STB said. In addition, the board said UP provided an “incomplete” response to a May 2023 order that sought information about the railroad’s hiring plans and detailed employment statistics broken down by operating division.

UP produced the documents the board sought, but not until filings the railroad made in November 2023 — more than five months after a May deadline.