Since I always ask simple questions...
If you shut down a majority or even some of the coal-fired plants, what is the alternative. They want to cut back on coal, but I haven't seen any replacements yet. Wind turbines are a solution, but the general public is complaining about the noise. (With our constant wind, we should be able to be over-energized!) I think we have 2 - maybe 3 here in area.
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
One problem here is that Bloomberg (like many others) is casting that "coal-is-down" premise a bit too broadly when speaking about BNSF. Anyone who follows the numbers would know that, so far, BNSF's coal business is not just holding steady but edging slightly upward, at least according to the figures they post weekly:
http://bnsf.com/about-bnsf/financial-information/weekly-carload-reports/pdf/20151003.pdf
The previous week (late September) showed a slight dip in BNSF's coal carloads from the same week last year. Otherwise, the overall picture for the year has been on the plus side.
Right on MC, but we should also credit Earnie Marsh for the 1960 Williams- Crookton line change that was probably the most significant event since the double double tracking in he 20's.
Predates Krebs by quite a bit. (He wasn't even a snot-nosed / silver spoon fed trainmaster on SP yet. He did urge it on.) Thank you Mr. John Shedd Reed and your predcessors.
A little late, but the sheltered souls on Wall Street noticed. Not that they will remember tomorrow.
nyc#25Krebs startedd it, but got shot down by Wall Streeters.
The article linked in the OP is quite superficial. Eliminating the bottlenecks on the southern transcon has been going on for at least ten years, back when the traffic load was quite high and growing. See this topic for some more recent details: http://cs.trains.com/trn/f/111/t/144645.aspx I can't speak to the exact traffic levels, but they may have risen close to those before the 2008 banking fiasco.
For a better overview, the author should have done a brief look at the other main lanes - the northern transcon to the PNW, the 'mini transcon' to Birmingham and the Gulf lines that I know very little about. Coal traffic may be declining, but other segments seem to be doing OK and 'debottlenecking' continues elsewhere on the system.
A less heralded but equally critical need is the 'last mile' infrastructure - the 'rails' posting on Trains blogs point out a possible overfocus on main line DT while ignoring terminal congestion. Not details that most investors would comprehend or care about ....
Links to my Google Maps ---> Sunset Route overview, SoCal metro, Yuma sub, Gila sub, SR east of Tucson, BNSF Northern Transcon and Southern Transcon *** Why you should support Ukraine! ***
Krebs startedd it, but got shot down by Wall Streeters.
Interesting article. Didn't the double tracking start long before Buffett bought BNSF? The article makes it sound like Buffett saw and opportunity, and started laying tracks.
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-07/buffett-bets-on-rail-superhighway-to-beat-trucks-as-coal-fades
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
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