(The following story by Dustin Bleizeffer appeared on the Star-Tribune website on September 13.)
CASPER, Wyo. — Union Pacific hauled 1,118 trainloads of coal from Wyoming’s southern Powder River Basin (PRB) in August, delivering a monthly record 17.2 million tons of coal to the nation’s coal-fired utilities.
Coal stockpiles at utilities are up 38 percent over last year, the highest level in four years, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration.
“We are pleased with the progress and contributions we have made to help restore coal stockpiles to normal,” Union Pacific vice president and general manager Doug Glass said in a prepared statement.
Union Pacific and BNSF Railway jointly own the triple-track line that delivers coal out of the southern portion of the basin. Two successive derailments on the line in 2005 caused a delivery shortfall of more than 20 million tons. Since then, the railroads have invested nearly $1 billion to expand coal delivery throughout their rail systems.
Powder River Basin mines in Wyoming scooped 431.3 million tons of coal in 2006, according to a Star-Tribune survey.