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(The Associated Press circulated the following on August 23, 2009.)

OMAHA, Neb. — One of Union Pacific’s most productive and profitable rail lines is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

The Omaha-based railroad says it carried its first coal train out of northeast Wyoming over the line between Sheridan, Wyo., and Joyce, Neb., in August 1984.

UP vice president Doug Glass says the volume of coal shipped out of Wyoming’s southern Powder River Basin has increased about 11% annually between 1984 and 2008 as the railroads invested in capacity.

Today, Union Pacific hauls an average of 30 coal trains a day out of the region, and each train carries an average 15,500 tons of coal.

Demand for coal has been down this year because of the recession, but coal still provides about half the nation’s electricity.