by Gilbert B Norman
Merry Christmas, Gentlemen--
While the term railroad is not mentioned anywhere in this article appearing in Friday's Journal, the potential of severely and adversely affecting the railroad industry cannot be dismissed:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... 10250.html
Brief passage:
But the Journal is reporting that state of affairs is under siege owing to environmental concerns.
Personally, I hold that the industry will be under severe threats during next decade of 2020; it the environmentalist initiatives favoring wind and geothermal generation become more dominant and if natural gas and nuclear interests, none of which have any need for railroad transportation, then the industry will be looking at the "hurts". Diversion from rails of Asian import traffic owing to the Panama Canal expansion from West Coast ports to Ports closest to the traffic's final destination will only result is less favorable line hauls. While the Eastern carriers such as CSX and NS will see increases, they will hardly be of size to offset those losses that BNSF and UP will sustain.
I sincerely hope such will not be the case, but are we staring at the '70's - the Dark Ages when I was in the industry - again?
Discussion, anyone?
While the term railroad is not mentioned anywhere in this article appearing in Friday's Journal, the potential of severely and adversely affecting the railroad industry cannot be dismissed:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... 10250.html
Brief passage:
- After burning coal to light up Cincinnati for six decades, the Walter C. Beckjord Generating Station will go dark soon—a fate that will be shared by dozens of aging coal-fired power plants across the U.S. in coming years.
Their owners cite a raft of new air-pollution regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency, including a rule released Wednesday that limits mercury and other emissions, for the shut-downs.
But energy experts say there is an even bigger reason coal plants are losing out: cheap and abundant natural gas, which is booming thanks to a surge in production from shale-rock formations in the U.S.
"Inexpensive natural gas is the biggest threat to coal," says Jone-Lin Wang, head of global power research for IHS CERA, a research company. "Nothing else even comes close."
But the Journal is reporting that state of affairs is under siege owing to environmental concerns.
Personally, I hold that the industry will be under severe threats during next decade of 2020; it the environmentalist initiatives favoring wind and geothermal generation become more dominant and if natural gas and nuclear interests, none of which have any need for railroad transportation, then the industry will be looking at the "hurts". Diversion from rails of Asian import traffic owing to the Panama Canal expansion from West Coast ports to Ports closest to the traffic's final destination will only result is less favorable line hauls. While the Eastern carriers such as CSX and NS will see increases, they will hardly be of size to offset those losses that BNSF and UP will sustain.
I sincerely hope such will not be the case, but are we staring at the '70's - the Dark Ages when I was in the industry - again?
Discussion, anyone?