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The freight railroad industry is kicking its recruitment efforts into high gear to counter an expected surge in retirements over the next decade, as well as a stodgy image that executives say hinders their ability to lure young blood.

The hiring and marketing push — including local and national advertising, listings on online job services and working with schools — comes at a time when business is improving faster than expected and railroads face costly congestion on their tracks.

Earlier this month, Union Pacific Corp., the nation’s largest railroad, was forced to turn down some business because of crew shortages and it paid to have UPS packages, normally carried by express rail, trucked across the country.

When I look forward five years out or eight years out, I think our biggest challenge is going to be recruiting and retaining employees,” said Matthew K. Rose, the chairman and chief executive of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp.

Rose said the industry needs to do a better job emphasizing the importance of logistics and technology to modern operations, although he conceded much of the demand is for physical laborers willing to work outdoors, regardless of the weather.

At the end of last year, about 220,000 workers were employed by the rail industry nationwide. About 40 percent of that labor force is eligible to retire by 2014, according to the Association of American Railroads.

The number of rail workers eligible to retire was accelerated two years ago after Congress amended the Railroad Retirement Act to reduce the age at which workers with 30 years of service could receive full benefits to 60 from 62.

Entry-level brakemen, the people who put together and take apart trains in rail yards, earn $40,000-$50,000 a year, plus benefits, according to Barbara Schaefer, Union Pacific’s senior vice president of human resources, and their salaries can climb to more than $70,000 in just a few years.

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Courtesy : The Detroit News.