(The following story by Jo Dee Black appeared on the Great Falls Tribune website on June 30.)
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Officials from the Hi-Line’s sole railroad wrapped up a three-day tour Thursday in Great Falls, answering questions from farmers and shippers on everything from rates to freight cars. They also did plenty of listening.
“As a consumer of your product, I recommend BNSF Railway do more to get the word out on these issues,” Devon-area farmer Tom Harwood told BNSF’s Matt Strong.
“I agree, especially on these issues where there has been a difference of opinion for so long,” Strong replied. “We need to present the facts and start a dialogue.”
BNSF Railway officials began their tour Tuesday in Wolf Point and met in Havre Wednesday. A total of more than 100 people attended the forums.
“We want to get feedback on better ways to address farmers’ issues and needs in this area,” said Gus Melonas, BNSF spokesman. “We talked about car cycles, track interruptions, market conditions.”
They also talked about shipping rates.
Montana grain growers and shippers have long complained that rail rates from the Hi-Line to Pacific ports are higher than rates from places further away. Farmers from areas with other grain shipping options pay less because there is competition, the grain growers said.
“A few years ago, I was paying 30 cents more (per bushel) to ship my wheat from Devon to the West Coast than farmers in Oklahoma,” Harwood said.
While not disputing Harwood’s claim, Strong said that’s not the case today.
“When you look at rates on a per-mile basis, Montana pays less than areas where there is railroad competition,” Strong said, using Wichita, Kan., as an example.
Rates aside, Harwood also discussed other concerns, including delivery delays, which were addressed.
“When a train is 30 or 60 days late to an elevator, I can’t deliver my contracted grain and I don’t get paid so that I can pay my bills,” he said. “It makes me mad as hell.”
BNSF officials explained how derailments or weather damage to tracks affects car delivery times.
“Now when trains are delayed, I won’t be any happier, but I probably won’t throw rocks at them when they go by,” Harwood said.
Montana Grain Growers Executive Vice President Richard Owen was pleased with the frank talk.
“We’ll probably continue to have different opinions on rates, but I think the BNSF should be commended for initiating these meetings,” he said. “There are other issues, like the farm bill, we can work on together.”
Participants learned more than BNSF’s side of the grain shipping business. They had an engineer’s view of what it’s like to haul that grain.
A computerized locomotive simulator used to train engineers was set up for hands-on demonstrations.
“This teaches everything they need to know from when to blow the whistle, to speed, to velocity,” said Ryan Johnson, manager of simulator operations.
Craig Essebaggers decided to keep his day job as the chief of the Montana Grain Lab after the simulator showed that his throttle handling needs some work.
“Your rail cars just jammed up against your engine,” Johnson told him. “You didn’t tear up the train, but you spilled your coffee.”