UP has always been big on gestures and public relations. The reasons why are obvious.
Considering the sanguinary, exploitative, and avaricious history of the railroads (especially UP), complete with genocide, indentured labor, and the violent suppression of worker resistance to deplorable working conditions, it can be said that their present business model is every bit as ruthless, only now what was previously accomplished by force is now accomplished with contracts, lobbying, and litigation.
In the latest installment of their shared madness, they've taken to cannibalizing their own workforce (the most important part of any business) to meet a set of nebulous performance metrics that have no verifiable basis in economic theory.
Since UP leadership apparently has little insight, let alone foresight (myopia seems to be a prerequisite for gaining entry to the boardroom), we can only assume that UP will remain what it always has been:
All style, and no substance.