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Railroads Struggle to Deliver Coal to Utilities
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[quote]QUOTE: <i>Originally posted by CrazyDiamond</i> <br /><br />[quote]QUOTE: <i>Originally posted by futuremodal</i> <br /><br />[quote]QUOTE: <i>Originally posted by CrazyDiamond</i> <br /><br />[quote]QUOTE: <i>Originally posted by futuremodal</i> <br /><br />[quote]QUOTE: <i>Originally posted by CrazyDiamond</i> <br /><br />Futuremodal, what RR do you work for, and have they implemented your expertise? <br />[/quote] <br /> <br />Hmmm, changing the subject already? Or is this a Murtha-esque exercise in personal criticism? <br />[/quote] <br /> <br />Nope....just a blunt question. <br />[/quote] <br /> <br />Then unless you can specify why the change-of-subject question is relevent to the topic we're discussing, I would suggest you start another topic regarding forum participants railroading experience or the lack thereof. <br />[/quote] <br /> <br />Its not a change-of-subject question. You accuse RRs of being stupid and cannibals and that they are now suffering because of it. Yet clearly your solutions are the answer, so I am curious to learn what RR you work for so we can all learn that indeed your wisdom is the answer. CN has done all the bad you speak of, little or none of what you recommend, they have their own strategies so clearly you don't work for them, and yet they are doing fine without you.....hmmmm ...as Homer Simpson would say "Amazing!!!". <br /> <br />Speaking of change-of-subject the topic is about a certain coal utility complaning about irregular deliveries yet somehow you turned this thread (like many you do) into a 'crap on the RR management day' for all they've done. You challege others and when they give you the answer you asked for you spin off onto another tangent. You are trying to create intelligent logic to support your emotions and ......well.... R/R. <br /> <br />Anyway I'm done with your posts....just gonna read what others have to say to others. <br />[/quote] <br /> <br />Well, this is a thread about the relationship between railroads and coal using utilities. The railroads have been having a hard time keeping up with coal transport demand (see topic title to confirm this statement), yet have no problem keeping up with the import demands of the overseas producers. It is now widely known (at least on this forum) that railroad R/VC ratios are often three times higher for captive shippers such as the coal using utilities than non captive shippers such as Asian importers, and those non captive shippers are getting rates that are more often than not below the STB's R/VC standard of 180%, which is considered to be an indicator of adequate profit for the railroads to cover their incremental costs and still make a decent profit. <br /> <br />Which brings the Robb threat back to square one. What he is threatening to do is already being done by his railroad, namely cross subsidizing the <180% R/VC rail shippers with the >180% R/VC captive shippers. Look at the track maintenance expenditures for BNSF this year - most of it is in the SoCal-Chicago ex AT&SF corridor, with a token amount being directed toward addressing the lack of capacity on the coal and ag corridors. No doubt BNSF would like nothing more than to not have to spend one extra dime on the coal and ag routes since those customers are in the captive category thus will still be there whether the trackage is improved or not. The overseas importers can easily shift to other railroads or Panama Canal ships if BNSF neglects that trackage to the point of causing an inordinate amount of derailments (such as occured in the PRB recently). <br /> <br />The overseas importers have the advantage of competition, the US captive rail shippers do not. <br /> <br />
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