Coal shortage from poor RR maintenance; coal pipelines again

A combination of heavy precipitation and built-up coal dust has been blamed for May's two derailments on a line jointly operated by Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana.

Electric utilities in many areas of the US have begun reporting shortages for their coal-fired power plants since a large percentage of freight trains will not be run over the next two or three months to allow for track maintenance.

A couple decades ago, the railroads succeeded in derailing efforts to construct coal slurry pipelines to deliver coal instead of using trains. The current railroad deferred maintenance resulting in the coal shortage has rekindled interest in building pipelines to compete with railroads for the long distance coal business.

Where did you get that info from?

The info came from some newspapers/news wires as well as electric utility trade and industry publications.

For example, a brief excerpt from Reuters news service:

"A top U.S. transportation official warned on Monday that coal shortages caused by damage to railroad tracks in the primary U.S. coal-mining region could trigger electrical brown-outs this summer in pockets of the country.

In an interview, the chairman of the Surface Transportation Board, Roger Nober, said brown-outs -- a potentially disruptive dip in electrical voltage on the grid -- were a possibility as the nation heads into a period of peak electricity consumption."

and

" Freight railroads have begun rationing coal to utility customers and warning that track repairs could stretch into next year.

In a letter to federal officials this week, Union Pacific Corp. , the nation's largest railroad, said the accidents have significantly affected the company's ability to meet demand for coal.

"We are telling our customers to expect to receive about 80 to 85 percent of the tons they had estimated," chairman Richard Davidson wrote."

Another news blurb:

"ELECTRIC UTILITIES PRESS CONGRESS TO FIX RAIL SHIPPING PROBLEMS Electric utilities' representatives joined wheat growers at a "captive rail customer" rally in Washington, D.C., on July 20 to urge Congress to pass legislation that would give shippers access to competitive rail transportation. With coal accounting for 53% of electric generation in the United States and the railway that delivers coal from the Powder River Basin to utilities currently undergoing extensive repairs, some utilities are reporting shortages of coal and having to rely on more expensive natural gas for fuel during the summer season."

What is it that they expect? lol If they want to keep getting there coal from the powder river they need to let them fix/maintain the track. I guess they dont realize how much work it really is.

Guess they don't. It does seen a bit incongruous to complain that rates are too high for captive shipper customers, and then also complain when a lot [presumably] of money is being spent on track maintenance to provide the needed service.

It just goes to show you if this country could go with out railroads, it would!!! So instead of helping UP and other coal carriers with the same problem or problems that may arise, they would rather put there money else where and start from scratch (like a coal slurry pipe line) and not fix something that’s already there. I bet it would take longer to build a pipe line than it would be to fix the rails; not to mention fixing a pipe would hold things up too.

Or we could do the honorable thing and switch from coal to other power sources, but america is to lazy to do that also.

What kind of brainwashed drivel is that? Switch from coal to...foreign oil? Windmills? Nuclear? How about we all go back to shivering in thatched huts all winter?

The environment is in FAR better shape today than it has been for years. 100 years ago we had steam engines all over (not that we'd hate to see THAT), office buildings and homes were heated with coal, and there were no restrictions on what could be emitted from smokestacks into the air.

Today auto emissions are far better, steam engines have essentially vanished, factories have to comply with countless regulations and power plants have installed scrubbers and other things to contain pollution.

Some folks like to trumpet about "mother earth". Yeah, it's all one earth like you say, and we all share the same air. So when we get carried away and put in regulations which get TOO restrictive, our manufacturing jobs are more likely to go to some other part of the world where there are NO regulations - and it winds up putting far more pollution into the air than if it were done here.

Diesel locomotives have to meet stricter standards, the Powder River Basin coal is attractive because it has lower sulfur content....we have made incredible progress in cleaning up our atmosphere. It may have a warm feeling saying noble-sounding things like being "honorable" and switching from coal, but why should we when the rest of the world has no intention of doing so? America is not too lazy, it's too smart. No doubt in the future there will be technology which allows us to make PRACTICAL use of solar, geothermal, and all that stuff - but for now GET REAL - and watch those coal trains roll!

One other thing Nate - it's "America", not "america".

nate wrote:Or we could do the honorable thing and switch from coal to other power sources, but america is to lazy to do that also.

Hydro is all taken in the US, could add wind and solar. But there is not enough of it, and the cost of electricity would go up several times more than current rates. Nuclear is a clean option, but the population is scared of it, not realizing how it truly is safe.

Effective July 18, Union Pacific declared an embargo on all new business in the southern Powder River Basin until further notice.

The action was the latest taken by the railroad as the result of damage to the Joint Line in the spring. "Under the embargo, Union Pacific will accept only traffic moving under currently active contracts or common carrier rate items," UP Vice President Doug Glass said. "Current SPRB customers do not have to do anything or change their processes for tendering coal for shipment. No permits will be necessary. We anticipate that this embargo will continue until November, when weather is likely to force a suspension of track work.

"We are taking this step because we have received a number of requests from customers for new service or service under different price documents," Glass said. "In addition, some customers have attempted to compel Union Pacific to carry larger shares of coal for them by asking for new rates. To protect our current SPRB customers, we are not soliciting or accepting new business to be carried on the Joint Line during the embargo. This will assure our customers that we will not reduce their respective shares of the available loads by diverting coal to those who request new rates or service for SPRB coal while the embargo is in force."

Glass said the action was taken "to prevent our constrained transportation capacity from being overwhelmed by demands for additional service. The embargo does not reflect any change in Union Pacific's assessment of the conditions of the Joint Line or our ability to transport coal to our customers."

Aji-tater wrote:What kind of brainwashed drivel is that? Switch from coal to...foreign oil? Windmills? Nuclear? How about we all go back to shivering in thatched huts all winter?

The environment is in FAR better shape today than it has been for years. 100 years ago we had steam engines all over (not that we'd hate to see THAT), office buildings and homes were heated with coal, and there were no restrictions on what could be emitted from smokestacks into the air.

Today auto emissions are far better, steam engines have essentially vanished, factories have to comply with countless regulations and power plants have installed scrubbers and other things to contain pollution.

Some folks like to trumpet about "mother earth". Yeah, it's all one earth like you say, and we all share the same air. So when we get carried away and put in regulations which get TOO restrictive, our manufacturing jobs are more likely to go to some other part of the world where there are NO regulations - and it winds up putting far more pollution into the air than if it were done here.

Diesel locomotives have to meet stricter standards, the Powder River Basin coal is attractive because it has lower sulfur content....we have made incredible progress in cleaning up our atmosphere. It may have a warm feeling saying noble-sounding things like being "honorable" and switching from coal, but why should we when the rest of the world has no intention of doing so? America is not too lazy, it's too smart. No doubt in the future there will be technology which allows us to make PRACTICAL use of solar, geothermal, and all that stuff - but for now GET REAL - and watch those coal trains roll!

use ethanol and soy diesel. Actually switch everything to diesel, its more efficient. And nuclear is a vialble option now that they've found ways to produce electricity at levels where things won't melt down.

Coal is dirty and destroys large acres of land (some people would debate there isn't anything there to destroy, however) and oil isn't going to last forever at the current consumption rates.

Aji-tater wrote:One other thing Nate - it's "America", not "america".

Sorry I got your panties in a bunch.

Ethanol and soy diesel are not the answer - they blend some with regular diesel but we are not equipped to produce, or consume, 100% at this time. Statistics can be used and mis-used, but some studies recently seem to show it actually takes more energy to produce the alternative fuels than they save.

I don't know how coal "destroys large acres of land" (I thought all acres were the same size). The days of leaving wasteland any time mining is done are far behind us. These days land is replaced, re-planted and in a few years you can't tell it was even mined.

Nobody wants to deliberately, totally, mess up the environment. Too many do-gooders have the mindset that any mining is bad, any coal burning is bad, any oil use is bad but they don't have any PRACTICAL, ECONOMICAL alternatives. This great nation of ours is far more attuned to "green" issues than anywhere else in the world I can think of.

If it were not for the tighter standards to protect the atmosphere, all that western coal would not be in such demand and we would see far less rail traffic on BNSF and UP.