Union Pacific Official Blames L.A.’s Far-Left Policies For Massive Train Thefts, Considers Leaving L

[rangerrebew]

Union Pacific Official Blames L.A.’s Far-Left Policies For Massive Train Thefts, Considers Leaving L.A.
By  Ryan Saavedra
•
Jan 16, 2022   DailyWire.com
•
Los Angeles, CA - January 15: Packaging debris and items stolen from rail cars litter train tracks near the the Union Pacific rail yard in Lincoln Heights on January 15, 2022 in Los Angeles, CA. Thieves are breaking in to trains and emptying them of packages, many of them marked to and from Amazon. Its now become a treasure hunt for people passing by the tracks.
 

An official with Union Pacific (UP) revealed late last week that the organization believes that approximately 90 shipping containers are compromised by theives every day as images have gone viral in recent days showing the aftermath of the thieves stealing thousands of packages.

Adrian Guerrero, director of public affairs for UP, revealed the following in a letter to far-left L.A. District Attorney George Gascon:

    “Since December 2020, UP has experienced an over 160% increase in criminal rail theft in Los Angeles County. In several months during that period, the increase from the previous year surpassed 200%. In October 2021 alone, the increase was 356% over compared to October 2020. Not only do these dramatic increases represent retail product thefts – they include increased assaults and armed robberies of UP employees performing their duties moving trains.”

    Over the last three months, “over 90 containers [are] compromised per day.”

    “This increased criminal activity over the past twelve months accounts for approximately $5 million in claims, losses and damages to UP. And that value does not include respective losses to our impacted customers.”

https://www.dailywire.com/news/union-pacific-official-blames-l-a-s-far-left-policies-for-massive-train-thefts-considers-leaving-l-a?itm_source=parsely-api&utm_source=cnemail&utm_medium=email&utm_content=011722-news&utm_campaign=position1

[rangerrebew]

Some 50 -55 years ago when I was in undergrad school, I worked on the railroad during the summers.  In 5 summers I was there, I did not hear of one car being broken in to, and the yard was not in a luxurious part of Michigan.

[Fishrrman]

UP is barkin' up the wrong tree. Sounds like James Taggart running things, instead of Dagny.

The city/state government won't address this.
They won't prosecute the thieves.
They probably won't even bother arresting that many of them.

But it goes further than that. The city cops aren't going to go wandering around the tracks to apprehend anyone -- too dangerous for them, and the railroad probably doesn't want them "on the property" anyway. Railroads have their own police forces, although I doubt they have anywhere near enough RR police personnel to handle this.

What are the railroad police really going to do, anyway?
Catch the perps and then hand them over to the city police?
See above.

This is a problem that the UP has to solve itself, Dagny Taggart style.

Short of moving the container terminal (and tracks) elsewhere, I see to "vectors of action":
1. Prevent access to the railroad right-of-way. That means high walls, concertina wire, running probably several miles along that particular rail corridor. Build it out, as far as it takes.
2. Innovate a new way to prevent containers from being opened en-route. Something more than just "a new higher-security lock". It's going to need to be something that prevents the container doors from being opened, locked or not. But it has to be designed in such a way so as to not interfere with the container being stacked on vessels or loaded onto trucks...

[Wingnut]

Move.  Texas is home to BNSF. They operate one of the largest freight railroad networks in North America, with 32500 miles of rail across the western two-thirds of the United States.

[Smokin Joe]

UP is barkin' up the wrong tree. Sounds like James Taggart running things, instead of Dagny.

The city/state government won't address this.
They won't prosecute the thieves.
They probably won't even bother arresting that many of them.

But it goes further than that. The city cops aren't going to go wandering around the tracks to apprehend anyone -- too dangerous for them, and the railroad probably doesn't want them "on the property" anyway. Railroads have their own police forces, although I doubt they have anywhere near enough RR police personnel to handle this.

What are the railroad police really going to do, anyway?
Catch the perps and then hand them over to the city police?
See above.

This is a problem that the UP has to solve itself, Dagny Taggart style.

Short of moving the container terminal (and tracks) elsewhere, I see to "vectors of action":
1. Prevent access to the railroad right-of-way. That means high walls, concertina wire, running probably several miles along that particular rail corridor. Build it out, as far as it takes.
2. Innovate a new way to prevent containers from being opened en-route. Something more than just "a new higher-security lock". It's going to need to be something that prevents the container doors from being opened, locked or not. But it has to be designed in such a way so as to not interfere with the container being stacked on vessels or loaded onto trucks...

A few bulls with shotguns used to be able to keep the right of way clear. Plenty of remote areas next to the tracks...