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"Railroads can't maintain pace of coal demand"

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[quote user="MP173"]So, according to my slide rule and mental placement of decimal points, .5 cents per ton mile would translate into about $90/mile for an 18000ton coal train.  That, however is on gross weight.I would assume the rates would apply on net tonnage, which would reduce the rate.  Am I correct in assuming it is based on net weight?So, that 125 car coal train would generate about $65-70 per mile.  A 1000 mile trip would generate $65000.  What about empties?ed[/quote]If you want the whole cycle, a common number 1.0-1.1 cents per ton-mile (on the gross tons) for PRB coal, long-haul, and 1.4-1.5 cents per ton-mile (gross tons) for eastern coal and Colorado/Utah coal.  Rates vary with value of service, cost of service, and competitive position of the coal mine in the marketplace.  The eastern mines are shielded to some degree in eastern coal markets from western coal by the cumulative cost of transportation of western coal.  Also, coal boilers are highly coal-specific and many boilers can't burn PRB coal or vice versa due to slagging and tube-fouling problems.  The place to look is to new plants to see what they propose to burn as they look forward in the market.  Existing plants tell you a lot about the market conditions predicted when they were designed, but not necessarily what the market conditions turned out to be. S. Hadid
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