DTN on Class 1 Railroads STB Report:
The BNSF responded to the STB saying, "After an incredibly challenging 2014, BNSF's network is performing well. We, and more importantly our customers, began to see marked improvements in service performance in the fourth quarter of last year as the capacity expansion projects that were part of our $5.5 billion 2014 capital plan were placed in service. We have continued that momentum through this year, and it continues to build as our $6 billion 2015 capital plan is executed across our network."
"We won't realize the full capability of the network while we are constructing these expansion projects and undertaking this year's significant maintenance program. Our customers will see additional velocity improvement as the expansion projects and annual maintenance are concluded for the year, in addition to realizing the benefit of the additional capacity through the fall and into the winter," added the BNSF.
"We are well-positioned to address anticipated fall and winter volumes with additional resources available. Current economic conditions have required us to store over 750 locomotives and, unfortunately, furlough over 1,700 people. While we are doing everything we can now to bring our employees back to work, we will be able to move quickly to deploy people and locomotives if volumes increase more rapidly than expected." http://goo.gl/…
In their weekly update as of Aug. 28, the BNSF website reported:
"The operation experienced mostly steady performance and good fluidity across the network this week. Minor service interruptions associated with ongoing maintenance and capital expansion as well as the wildfire situation in the Pacific Northwest contributed to a small spike in total trains held. We also moved the highest weekly volume of 2015 to date at 207,908 units, exceeding the 200,000 level for the fifth week in a row and the 14th week this year."
On Aug. 27, the BNSF reported that there was a track outage in their Hi-line subdivision at Essex, Montana, due to the wildfires. Train traffic was suspended and crews applied approximately 18,000 gallons of water and about 80 gallons of foam to a one mile span along the tracks to slow down the fire's advance and mitigate any damage to property.
The BNSF stated that, "If conditions improve, several trains are staged and ready to take advantage of any opportunity to operate through the area safely. We will also continue to re-route traffic to minimize any service disruption caused by this situation. Fire conditions could worsen Saturday with strong winds in the forecast; however, a changing weather pattern will increase the chances for rain and bring much cooler temperatures to the area as we move into next week."
...
One item stuck out in the latest service update by the BNSF more than the others: past-due car orders. The BNSF reported that for the week of Aug. 22, past-due car orders system wide, were at 425 cars and days late was at 3.2. One year ago, for the week ending Aug. 19, past due orders were at 2,609, at an average of 12.9 days late.
Yes indeed, what a difference one year makes.
Here is the link to all Class 1 Railroads fall service plans to the STB: http://www.stb.dot.gov/…
Mary Kennedy can be reached at mary.kennedy@dtn.com
Follow Mary Kennedy on Twitter @MaryCKenn
The BNSF responded to the STB saying, "After an incredibly challenging 2014, BNSF's network is performing well. We, and more importantly our customers, began to see marked improvements in service performance in the fourth quarter of last year as the capacity expansion projects that were part of our $5.5 billion 2014 capital plan were placed in service. We have continued that momentum through this year, and it continues to build as our $6 billion 2015 capital plan is executed across our network."
"We won't realize the full capability of the network while we are constructing these expansion projects and undertaking this year's significant maintenance program. Our customers will see additional velocity improvement as the expansion projects and annual maintenance are concluded for the year, in addition to realizing the benefit of the additional capacity through the fall and into the winter," added the BNSF.
"We are well-positioned to address anticipated fall and winter volumes with additional resources available. Current economic conditions have required us to store over 750 locomotives and, unfortunately, furlough over 1,700 people. While we are doing everything we can now to bring our employees back to work, we will be able to move quickly to deploy people and locomotives if volumes increase more rapidly than expected." http://goo.gl/…
In their weekly update as of Aug. 28, the BNSF website reported:
"The operation experienced mostly steady performance and good fluidity across the network this week. Minor service interruptions associated with ongoing maintenance and capital expansion as well as the wildfire situation in the Pacific Northwest contributed to a small spike in total trains held. We also moved the highest weekly volume of 2015 to date at 207,908 units, exceeding the 200,000 level for the fifth week in a row and the 14th week this year."
On Aug. 27, the BNSF reported that there was a track outage in their Hi-line subdivision at Essex, Montana, due to the wildfires. Train traffic was suspended and crews applied approximately 18,000 gallons of water and about 80 gallons of foam to a one mile span along the tracks to slow down the fire's advance and mitigate any damage to property.
The BNSF stated that, "If conditions improve, several trains are staged and ready to take advantage of any opportunity to operate through the area safely. We will also continue to re-route traffic to minimize any service disruption caused by this situation. Fire conditions could worsen Saturday with strong winds in the forecast; however, a changing weather pattern will increase the chances for rain and bring much cooler temperatures to the area as we move into next week."
...
One item stuck out in the latest service update by the BNSF more than the others: past-due car orders. The BNSF reported that for the week of Aug. 22, past-due car orders system wide, were at 425 cars and days late was at 3.2. One year ago, for the week ending Aug. 19, past due orders were at 2,609, at an average of 12.9 days late.
Yes indeed, what a difference one year makes.
Here is the link to all Class 1 Railroads fall service plans to the STB: http://www.stb.dot.gov/…
Mary Kennedy can be reached at mary.kennedy@dtn.com
Follow Mary Kennedy on Twitter @MaryCKenn