(The Associated Press circulated the following on September 22, 2010.)
OMAHA, Neb. Union Pacific freight trains will soon begin moving faster through the eastern Nebraska cities of Grand Island and Columbus.
The Omaha-based railroad says recent track improvements in the region will allow it to increase speeds through Columbus and Grand Island to 70 mph.
Trains will begin moving faster in both communities on Oct. 1, and they should regularly run at their new peak speeds by Oct. 22.
Currently, train speed through Columbus is capped at 50 mph, and trains through Grand Island move no faster than 60 mph.
Union Pacific says it spent more than $26 million to upgrade the tracks between Schuyler and Duncan, Neb., and it spent more than $20 million to improve the tracks between Grand Island and Gibbon.