In the interest of ensuring safe, responsible use of its rail service, close to 40 representatives from Freeport, the railroad industry and railroad regulatory agencies met in early May for the company’s first ever rail summit.
Held in Miami, Ariz., the two-day conference, titled “Riding the Rails of Safety: Every Track, Every Time, Together,” brought in employees involved with transportation logistics at Freeport’s rail-served sites in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Iowa.
In all, the company manages a fleet of 1,300 railcars that provide about 50,000 shipments in North America annually. The sheer volume of the company’s rail traffic makes critical the company’s commitment to strengthening the community of support and guidance around safe rail operations, construction and maintenance.
“Many of these people had never met before,” said Travis Holder, Senior Supervisor, Smelter Transportation-Miami Smelter Operations. “There was a lot of enthusiasm around holding this summit to start getting us all on the same page when it comes to our rail usage across the company.”
Day 1 of the summit was focused on safety, inspections and penalties. On Day 2, discussions centered on proper maintenance, placard standards, and non-accident releases of hazardous material. As part of the event, attendees had a choice of touring either the Miami smelter or the nearby rod mill.
While rail safety was the key driver for the summit, another concern was the need to overhaul rail infrastructure serving Freeport operations.
“The demands on rail service for transportation of commodities (acid, concentrate, anodes, etc.) and for future site expansions and projects will only increase,” said Logan Harper, Manager Freight
Transportation-Global Supply Chain. “Much of the existing rail system we use will need some upgrades for all that, so this (summit) is a great opportunity for transportation teams to share their input on what those improvements should accommodate.”
Rail summit organizers said they plan to conduct a follow-up event in 2025, with others likely to come in future years. Coincidentally, this year’s conference took place shortly after Freeport received Union Pacific's Pinnacle Award for ongoing efforts to ensure safe rail transportation of chemicals to and from its North America sites.