Rumors are flying in Iowa railroad towns that the Union Pacific will move a lot of jobs around or out of the state. U-P’s Mark Davis in Omaha says the reports stem from plans to build a big new facility He says it’ll be 70 miles west of Chicago, and from that base in Rochelle, the trains will run to Boone, Mason City and Omaha. Davis says the railroad is required by union contracts to notify workers. Davis admits a few workers may have to move to continue their work, but most won’t have to leave towns like Boone, which was built around the railroads.He says it’s an important switching location and point where crews change, and Boone will remain an important crew-change point with the railroad. Davis adds the railroad remains an important part of American transportation systems.He jokes that the rail industry’s usually overlooked unless you’re stuck at a crossing, but says it’s handling more freight than railroads did in their heyday of the 1940s and fifties.
