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{{#Show badges: | Climate change |CoalSwarm}}The '''Union Pacific Railroad''' (UP), headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest and oldest operating railroad network in the United States, and as of 2009 covers 23 states in the western two-thirds of the United States. It is an operating subsidiary of Union Pacific Corporation. James R. Young is president, CEO, and Chairman.<ref>[http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/exec/index.shtml "Executive Profiles - James R. Young, President and Chief Executive Officer" Union Pacific Railroad, November 2009</ref><ref>[www.uprr.com/newsinfo/releases/financial/2007/0130_youngceo.shtml "Union Pacific Elects President and CEO James R. Young Chairman of the Board"] Union Pacific Railroad, January 30, 2009</ref>{{Show badges|AEX}}

The '''Union Pacific Railroad''' (UP), headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest and oldest operating railroad network in the United States, and as of 2009 covers 23 states in the western two-thirds of the United States. It is an operating subsidiary of Union Pacific Corporation. James R. Young is president, CEO, and Chairman.<ref>[http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/exec/index.shtml "Executive Profiles - James R. Young, President and Chief Executive Officer"] Union Pacific Railroad, November 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/exec/index.shtml "Union Pacific:About Us"] Union Pacific Railroad Website, November 2009</ref> Having access to the coal-rich [[Powder River Basin]] in [[Wyoming]] and coal fields in [[Illinois]], [[Colorado]], and [[Utah]], the railroad moves more than 260 million tons of coal annually. It's one of Union Pacific's fastest-growing business areas. The company is investing millions of dollars annually to add capacity to handle coal traffic, including new locomotives, and new track main lines.<ref>[http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/corporate_info/uprrover.shtml "Company Overview"] Union Pacific Railroad, November 2009</ref> UP's route map covers most of the central and western United States west of Chicago, Illinois, and New Orleans, Louisiana. As of 2009, UP operates on 32,000 miles of track, of which it owns outright {26,949 miles, both numbers representing the highest amount of any railroad currently operating in the United States.<ref>[http://aar.org/PubCommon/Documents/AboutTheIndustry/RRProfile_UP.pdf "Union Pacific Railroad Company"] Association of American Railroads, January 17, 1008</ref><ref>[http://aar.org/AboutTheIndustry/RailroadProfiles.asp "Railroad Industry Profiles: Association of American Railroads"] Association of American Railroads, 2008</ref> It has achieved this size as a result of purchasing a large number of other railroads, notably the Missouri Pacific, Chicago and North Western Railway, Western Pacific Railroad, Missouri-Kansas-Texas, and the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (including the Southern Pacific Railroad). Currently, Union Pacific owns 26% of Ferromex while Grupo Mexico owns the remaining 74%.

Among Union Pacific's big business freight is carrying coal from mines to power plants, including from the [[Powder River Basin]] in Wyoming, the source of about 38% of all the coal produced in the U.S. Coal shipments are estimated to make up about 20% of freight revenues enjoyed by big rail carriers, including Union Pacific.<ref name="Chamber">Pete Altman, [http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/paltman/are_chamber_of_commerce_presid.html "Are Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue's Ties to Union Pacific Railroading the Companies that Support Climate Policy?"] Natural Resources Defense Council Website, September 15, 2009</ref>

According to UP's website, "One rail car of coal provides the energy togenerate to generate enough electricity for more than 20 homes for a year. Union Pacific's 200,000 trains out of the SPRB have carried enough coal to power all the homes in the United States for 5 years."<ref name="UP"/>

According to Union Pacific vice president and general manager Doug Glass, "SPRB coal volume has increased 11 percent annually since 1984. While demand for coal is off this year due to the recession, lower demand for metallurgical coal and reduced industrial output, we expect continued growth of this cost-effective, low sulfur coal for many years to come. Support of new power plant technologies that are capable of capturing CO2 will support continued demand for coal and help address the United States' desire to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and continue to provide cost-effective electricity to U.S. industry and consumers."<ref name="UP"/> It was reported that according to Union Pacific that its US export coal volume jumped to 5.2 million st in 2011, a 271.4% increase over its 2010 total of 1.4 million.<ref>[http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/Coal/3901053 "Union Pacific's export coal business nearly quadruples"] Darren Epps, Platts, January 17, 2011.</ref> ===Exporting PRB coal===In September 2010 [[Peabody Energy]] announced that "Coal's best days are ahead." Peabody stated that exports of coal from the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming will be central to its expansion goals, through [[coal exports from northwest United States ports]].<ref>[http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2010/11/cowlitz_county_approves_permit.html "Cowlitz County approves permits to export coal to Asia from port in Longview, Wash."] Scott Lean, ''The Oregonian'', November 23, 2010.</ref> In 2008, BNSF CEO Matt Rose said [[BNSF]] is talking to potential customers abroad about exporting [[Powder River Basin]] coal, particularly to Asia, and looking at the logistical challenges of exporting large quantities.<ref name=worc/> BNSF and UP invested more than $4 billion to increase capacity in recent years. UP added 100 miles of railroad track in 2009, and replaced nearly 16,000 miles of track.<ref name=worc>[http://www.worc.org/userfiles/file/Coal/Exporting_Powder_River_Basin_Coal_Risks_and_Cost.pdf "Exporting Powder River Basin Coal: Risks and Costs"] Western Organization of Resource Councils Report, January 2011.</ref>  A 2011 Western Organization of Resource Councils Report, [http://www.worc.org/userfiles/file/Coal/Exporting_Powder_River_Basin_Coal_Risks_and_Cost.pdf "Exporting Powder River Basin Coal: Risks and Costs"] notes that an export market of 140 million tons a year of coal would require around 60 unit trains traveling to or from the West Coast and the Powder River Basin every day: "Again, for comparison, current volume of traffic is no more than 10 unit trains per day. Nearly all of the rail line from the Powder River Basin to the West Coast would eventually need upgrades to carry additional weight or expand additional tracks to accommodate an export market of this size."<ref name=worc/> The report goes on to note that "a coal export facility with the capacity to ship 20-30 million tons per year of Peabody Powder River Basin coal would result in the export of 35-53 million tons of [[CO2]] per year. Exporting 140 million tons a year would produce roughly 280 million tons of CO2 per year."<ref name=worc/>

The [[U.S. Chamber of Commerce ]] has been a vocal critic of [[climate change ]] legislation. U.S. Chamber President [[Tom Donohue ]] has been on the board of directors at Union Pacific since 1998, and paid annual retainers by Union Pacific amounting to at least $1,134,333 since 1998.<ref name="Chamber"/>

Union Pacific has given $700,000 to the U.S. Chamber since 2004, as reported in the company's 2007, 2008, and 2009 proxy statements, and had has spent over $3 million on lobbying activities in 2009, including efforts to oppose the [[American Clean Energy and Security Act]].<ref name="Chamber"/>

The '''Union Pacific Coal Company''' was formed in 1874 as the '''Union Pacific Coal Department''' by the Union Pacific Railroad. The company was formed because Union Pacific's former coal supplier, Wyoming Coal and Mining Company, was selling coal at highly inflated costs to the railroad.<ref name=wsgs>"[http://www.wsgs.uwyo.edu/Coal/HistMineInfo.aspx "Mining, Then and Now"] Historical Mine Information, Wyoming State Geological Survey, University of Wyoming, accessed November 2009.</ref>