Utah Railway

[ljeppson]

As you may know, Utah Railway acts as a partner to BNSF, generating local traffic for them in the Salt Lake Valley. Utah Railway goes after traffic for BNSF on a competitive basis with UP over their (UP) trackage. That is the arrangement between Utah Railway and BNSF for general trafffic.

What I'm wondering about is the relationship between Utah Railway's coal traffic and BNSF. Does BNSF get a cut of it? It doesn't appear to be so here in the Salt Lake valley, but I was wondering if such obained for easbound Utah Railway coal.

[ljeppson]

My question was answered in the affirmative in the latest Trains Mag. On Page 22 there is a picture of a BNSF coal drag exiting the Moffat Tunnel having been given its train by Utah Railway in Grand Junction, CO. The coal in question is bound for Chihuahua, Mexico. In addition to Utah Railway's long standing trackage rights over Soldier Summit, as per the Union Pacific-Southern Pacific merger specs, Utah Railway also obtained trackage rights to Grand Junction which it apparently uses to good effect on the bottom line.