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Senators chide freight railroads on delays
Fuel Fix ^ | September 10, 2014 | Associated Press

Posted on 09/11/2014 5:36:45 AM PDT by thackney

Senators and shippers complained Wednesday that widespread delays in freight rail shipments are hurting a wide array of industries and driving some companies out of business, and they expressed doubt that the railroad companies are doing all they can to fix the problem.

The delays, which escalated late last year and continued through the spring and summer, appear to be the result of too few rail cars and too much demand from shippers, officials representing the agriculture, auto and chemical industries told a hearing of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Lawmakers displayed a photo of a giant mound of wheat standing in the open because North Dakota farmers can’t get a railroad company to ship it.

Shipping rates are 90 percent higher than they were in 2002, but service has drastically diminished, said Calvin Dooley, president of the American Chemistry Council.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: rail
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To: railroader

We’ve worked on lowering the floor of a few tunnels for BNSF - in OK and TX.

Ultimately, all of the Class I lines will have PTC. BNSF took one approach - do it, and the other Class I’s invested in lobbying to delay it. So its delayed...but still in progress.

I have been involved in planning stages for grand on-loading facilities in ND - they have fallen through, because investors worry Keystone will become a reality and undercut them. So the situation remains - the tank storage is not large enough and too scattered to facilitate unit trains in the traditional way, especially if the storage site doesn’t have enough siding/loop to build an entire train.


41 posted on 09/11/2014 8:19:08 AM PDT by lacrew
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To: thackney

Yes, east coast refineries are probably getting more than the Gulf Coast now. But it is still moving regularly to the latter. I understand that BNSF was giving Union Pacific two trains per day at E. St. Louis for forwarding to Louisiana while BNSF was hauling another train (not sure of frequency) to the Marquis Energy’s new Hayti, Missouri river terminal (southeast corner of the state). Also, Canadian Pacific has been giving some trains to Kansas City Southern at Kansas City for forwarding to Port Arthur, Texas, IIRC.

One option is moving by rail part of the way and then pipeline the rest, or vice-versa. Union Pacific will serve a proposed unloading facility near Pontiac, Illinois if and when it is built.

Eastbound oil train traffic will increase. There is talk that the Husky refinery in Lima, Ohio may start getting both Alberta and Bakken crude by rail in the near future (and once track and unloading facilities are built).


42 posted on 09/11/2014 8:37:19 AM PDT by railroader
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To: railroader

I would expect the growth in Bakken oil by rail would be primarily east coast and some to the west. I suspect the Gulf Coast deliveries would tapper off with the growing production of light sweet from the Eagle Ford and Permian Basin.

More economic value in competing with overseas tankers versus locally produced oil.

Some info from earlier this summer:
Crude-by-rail transportation provides Bakken Shale production access to major markets
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3165951/posts


43 posted on 09/11/2014 8:46:31 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer.)
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To: woodbutcher1963
Here is a screencap of BNSF systemwide railcar Velocity for Unit Grain vs. Manifest Freight for the past 53 weeks:

Click here to look for other BNSF Velocity data. If you change the "Weeks=" number at the end of the link... and then click the radio boxes you can get graphed data going back to January, 2005. All this info is available at that railroadpm.org website.

44 posted on 09/11/2014 8:58:55 AM PDT by Rodamala
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To: SAJ
Keep in mind, there are other pipeline being built that specifically target getting more oil out of the Bakken area. In the past year, the oil moved by pipeline out of North Dakota increased more than the oil moved by rail. Rail is still the majority, but more pipelines are going in.

https://ndpipelines.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/ndpa-monthly-update-august-15-2014.pdf

http://ndpipelines.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/ndpa-monthly-update-august-15-20131.pdf


45 posted on 09/11/2014 8:59:20 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer.)
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To: SAJ

In the past year, the oil moved by pipeline out of North Dakota increased more than the oil moved by rail.

- - - -

I messed that one up. I used the latest month, not the past year. While that was true for the latest month, it was not true for 2012 versus 2013, or expectation for 2014.

It looks like the rate of change is greater for pipelines and will likely catch up and eventually exceed, it hasn’t happened yet.


46 posted on 09/11/2014 9:07:36 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer.)
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To: Opinionated Blowhard

Railroads are regulated at the Federal level due to Interstate Commerce rules.


47 posted on 09/11/2014 12:36:58 PM PDT by ClayinVA ("Those who don't remember history are doomed to repeat it")
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To: NonValueAdded
Kip’s Ma will testify tomorrow.

LOL! Probably not - she already got elected to the Senate from Massachusetts. :)

48 posted on 09/11/2014 4:18:54 PM PDT by Mr. Jeeves ([CTRL-GALT-DELETE])
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To: ADemocratNoMore; Aggie Mama; alarm rider; alexander_busek; AlligatorEyes; AmericanGirlRising; ...
Several posters on this thread have noted the connection between this situation and the Emma "Ma" Chalmers soybeans-versus-wheat situation in Atlas Shrugged.
49 posted on 09/11/2014 4:22:59 PM PDT by Publius ("Who is John Galt?" by Billthedrill and Publius now available at Amazon.)
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To: Publius
Fiction. (Sobbing) It was fiction! (Pounding table, more sobbing) Atlas Shrugged was supposed to be FICTION!!
50 posted on 09/11/2014 4:39:00 PM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: Rodamala

I will check into that one.

Thank you.


51 posted on 09/11/2014 4:45:07 PM PDT by wally_bert (There are no winners in a game of losers. I'm Tommy Joyce, welcome to the Oriental Lounge.)
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To: Paine in the Neck

Wouldn’t “dey” be more appropriate?


52 posted on 09/11/2014 4:45:58 PM PDT by wally_bert (There are no winners in a game of losers. I'm Tommy Joyce, welcome to the Oriental Lounge.)
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To: Publius

This or a similar thread on the same topic I think I made a joke about the Grapefruit Special


53 posted on 09/11/2014 5:02:15 PM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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To: GeronL

The Smathers Brothers, who had “pull”, thanks to Cuffy Meigs.


54 posted on 09/11/2014 5:04:02 PM PDT by Publius ("Who is John Galt?" by Billthedrill and Publius now available at Amazon.)
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To: thackney

WHAT? Messiah 0bama doesn’t make the trains run on time?

Bad Communist! Bad! Bad!


55 posted on 09/11/2014 8:01:12 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set...)
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To: Billthedrill; Publius
+ +
56 posted on 09/12/2014 7:45:08 PM PDT by Clinging Bitterly (I will not comply.)
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