HEARNE, Texas-- According to Union Pacific Railroad, it’s the largest capital investment in company history, and it’s happening right here in the Brazos Valley.
The railroad company is building a new $550 million facility in Robertson County that will bring jobs and economic development to the area knows as the Crossroads of Texas.
Union Pacific will begin construction on 1,800 acres of land between Mumford and Hearne on the Brazos Yard.
“It’s a perfect place for us to improve our efficiency, improve our fluidity, and serve all the rail customers throughout Texas and throughout this party of the country,” said Brenda Mainwaring, Assistant Vice President of Public Affairs at Union Pacific.
The new facility will be at the junction of seven Union Pacific rail subdivisions and will function as a classification yard.
Shipments of goods will be separated and sorted, then redistributed and sent out on trains that will travel to different parts of the country, according to Union Pacific.
The Brazos Yard will be able to switch up to 1,300 rail cars per day, making it one of the highest capacity yards on Union Pacific’s 23 state network.
The new yard will bring economic development to surrounding communities like Hearne, something this railroad town welcomes.
“I think it’s a great opportunity to attract people to our community because we are such a nice little place to live,” said John Naron, the City Manager for Hearne.
Longtime resident, Chuck Carlson agrees. He’s made Hearne his home for the last 30 years.
“It’s a great thing for the community because it’s going to open a lot of jobs,” said Carlson.
“Anytime you have cash flow coming in, it only makes the community better,” he added.
The Brazos Yard will be one of the biggest in Texas due to the number of cars and tracks moving through it daily.
According to Union Pacific, when the Brazos Yard is fully built out, it will be one of the largest in the country.
Plus, Union Pacific has developed a partnership with Texas A&M, working with Texas Transportation Institute in gathering data and economic outlook projects.
“We all love our partnership and our longstanding relationship with Texas A&M,” said Mainwaring
“This will provide an interesting opportunity as one of the first rail yards has been built in a couple of decades for those students at Texas A&M and its engineering students to get on the ground and kind of see how Railroading is done,” she added.
Union Pacific said construction will begin soon and expect the Brazos Yard to be completed by 2020.