By JOSH FUNK , AP Business Writer

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Union Pacific Corp. hauled in 29 percent more second-quarter profit as the railroad handled 4 percent more shipments, but the results might have been better with some operational challenges.

The Omaha, Nebraska-based company said Thursday it earned $1.51 billion net income, or $1.98 per share. That’s up from $1.17 billion, or $1.45 per share, a year ago.

The results exceeded the $1.94 per share that the analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research expected.

Union Pacific CEO Lance Fritz said the railroad’s performance was hurt by shortages of train crews and a tunnel outage in June, but it is working on improving its operations.

“Overall, I am pleased with the effort put forth by the entire Union Pacific team; however, I recognize the results could have been better,” Fritz said.

The railroad’s revenue grew 8 percent to $5.67 billion in the period. That surpassed the $5.6 billion analysts expected.

But Union Pacific’s expenses increased 10 percent to $3.6 billion as fuel costs jumped 48 percent to $643 million.

Fritz said he expects the economy to remain strong through the rest of the year.

Union Pacific shares have increased slightly more than 5 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has increased slightly more than 5 percent. The stock has risen 29 percent in the last 12 months.

The railroad operates 32,400 miles of track in 23 states.