Rockingham Racer wrote:My understanding [correct me if I'm wrong] is that the transport of Bakken [and other] oil is a temporary boon to the railroads, and will become less lucrative with fewer trains as pipelines continue to be put into the ground. .
Both CP Rail and BNSF are expanding their ability to move oil from the North Dakota / South Saskatchewan Bakken shale source. For example, as stated recently by CP........ " It’s a roaring business. In 2009, when Calgary-based Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. started dabbling in crude oil transportation, it moved 500 of its black barrel-shaped cars out of the basin. Last year, its oil trains carried 13,000 cars and soon CP could be moving 70,000 cars or more a year out of the North Dakota Bakken tight-oil field alone.
In addition, the railways can offer flexibility to producers that pipelines can’t. They can scale up or down quickly. Because their tracks are in place, they can provide transportation now, while pipeline permitting and construction takes years. CP’s energy and merchandise vice-president, said in an recent interview......" We have never suggested rail will replace pipelines, there is a role to play as a supplement.”
I recently heard a radio interview, whereby a marketing executive for the Canadian Oil Industry stated the only means to deliver crude oil from source to refining is by pipeline...........the so called expert needs to do further research it seems.
I understand Irving has completed the expansion of their rail receiving facility for crude shipments, in Saint John N.B. Further to the Irving owned NB Southern RR, in the last 16 months, their locomotive roster has increased from 14 to 36 with an additional 80 employees hired for their New Brunswick Southern RR / Eastern Maine RR / Maine Northern RR operations.
. You won't see CTC installed up there unless someone pays for it. There is still plenty of capacity if track speed is increased and sidings are rebuilt.