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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Paul Anderson (R)

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Series of impacts bog rail traffic

Monday, May 12, 2014

By Rep. Paul Anderson

 

An interested group of ag stakeholders and legislators met May 5 with representatives from two Class I railroads that serve Minnesota. Brian Sweeney and Steve Mulligan, from Burlington Northern Sante Fe, along with Herb Jones of Canadian Pacific, spoke to the group and then answered questions about the slow movement of agricultural products this past winter.

They all mentioned three factors that led to the slowdown in rail car deliveries. One is the improving economy that has seen an increase in the demand for transportation from all sectors, including crude oil and grain movement. Second was the unusually cold and snowy winter that caused slowdowns. And lastly, problems with congestion in and around Chicago led to an increase in what’s called “dwell time,” which is a measure of how long cars sit in a rail yard waiting to be moved. During the peak of the slowdown, cars on the CP line sat in Chicago for an average of 38 hours before being moved again. Today, that dwell time is down to 24 hours.

 

Bakken oil shipments will continue to grow, according to Sweeney. He added, “When the economy improves, so does the demand for transportation. We are getting back to pre-recession levels, with the main areas of increased shipping being Bakken crude and soybeans destined for the Pacific Northwest and export to Asia.”

 

Cold temperatures also affect railroad operations. When it gets down near zero, air brakes are not as effective so train length has to be shortened. The speed at which trains operate is also reduced during times of extremely cold weather. According to Jones, the speed of CP trains on average has increased 18 percent in the last two weeks.

 

It was pointed out that 40 percent of our nation’s rail shipments pass through Chicago, where six of America’s seven Class I railroads utilize trackage. Problems with slowdowns began in mid-December and continued throughout the winter. Car loading on the CP fell by 8 percent in the first quarter of this year. Jones added, “As Chicago goes, so goes the CP. We need to go back and review this past winter, and then use it as a lesson to improve our service.”

 

Both rail lines have increased the amount they are spending on capital improvements. More locomotives and rail cars, along with new trackage and double tracks in certain areas, will hopefully lead to greater efficiencies. “This is a real challenge for us,” Sweeney added. “Our goal is to be caught up with the shipment of grain by July.”

 

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This is our last full week of session in St. Paul. The big three bills, those pertaining to taxes, spending, and bonding, still remain to be passed. The tax bill, the second on that subject this session, has been agreed to, but the other two are still be negotiated. It’s not known if we’ll remain in session right through the weekend to beat the deadline for adjournment on Monday. If agreement was reached early in the week on bonding, the lone bill requiring Republican votes for passage, the end of session could come quickly.

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