Home
»
Trains Magazine
»
Forums
»
General Discussion
»
"Railroads can't maintain pace of coal demand"

Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
[quote user="jeaton"] Frankly, I am neutral on the whole DME extension issue.  But what I find very humorous is FM's assertion that the DME would actually have "standby" capacity to handle a diversion of the BNSF/UP business if the Orin line went down.  Unless that guy that owns the DME is a total idiot, he is going to run his railroad at capacity.  According to information the DME submitted to the STB, their annual capacity number will be 100 million tons or about 18-20 trains a day.  Meanwhile the BNSF and UP are going to take about 325 million tons out of the basin this year, and with the capacity work finished this year will get to 375 million tons in 2007.  Then with the $100 million expansion scheduled for 2007 their capacity will go up over 400 million tons per year.  Assuming no further expansion of the Orin line capacity, DME's capacity will make the annual total about 500 million.  Currently, over 600 million tons per year is permitted.  I have seen numbers as high as 700 million tons per year going out in 15-20 years.  Even with the DME in the play, excess capacity and lower rates will only exist in FM's dreams.[/quote]Jay, Jay, Jay.....Surely you've heard of railroads using a competitor's trackage when their own is taken out of service for some reason......?Keep in mind also that the DM&E will build a parallel line to a good portion of the Orin line.  That would allow for some directional running if all three parties can come to such an agreement, and directional running can concievably double capacity of bi-directional trackage.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag