SAN ANTONIO -- Responding to Bexar County's demands for more safety, Union Pacific Railroad said it will hire 154 new trainmen and 35 new engineers in San Antonio this year, and another 55 engineers are slated to start work next year.

Jim Young, Union Pacific's president, sent Bexar County Judge Wolff a two-page letter detailing the company's commitment to safety in the wake of four train derailments.

"These are immediate things they're doing," Wolff said. "I feel they're on the right track."

Ralph Velasquez, who survived a deadly June derailment, said he wants the county to form a partnership with Union Pacific, asking that the railroad pay for equipment and training of local emergency workers who respond to derailments.