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April 20 (Reuters) - Union Pacific Corp posted a marginal rise in its first-quarter revenue on Thursday as the U.S. railroad operator benefited from price hikes and higher fuel surcharge revenue.
The company's operating revenue rose to $6.06 billion in the quarter ended March 31, from $5.86 billion a year earlier.
Union Pacific, which connects 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country by rail, has been struggling with service issues amid an industry-wide labor shortage that has been impacting rail shipments.
Still, higher prices and fuel surcharge helped lift the company's revenue.
Operating ratio, a key profitability metric for railroads, came in at 62.1% in the quarter, compared with 59.4% a year earlier. The lower the ratio is, the better.
The company's net income remained unchanged at $1.63 billion in the quarter ended March 31, from a year-ago period.
(Reporting by Amna Karimi in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
