Railroad Says Its Committed to Hauling Fertilizer.

[elleng]

BISMARCK, N.D. — Canadian Pacific Railway has told a federal oversight board that moving fertilizer for spring planting does not present a "significant challenge" for the railroad.

The Calgary, Alberta-based railroad told the Surface Transportation Board on Friday that it's committed to moving "fertilizer and plant nutrients as they are presented to the railroad."

The Surface Transportation Board this week ordered Canadian Pacific and BNSF Railway Co. to report their plans by Friday to ensure delivery of fertilizer shipments for spring crop planting.

BNSF said Thursday it will add trains in the Dakotas, Minnesota and Montana solely for transporting fertilizer for spring crop planting.

Canadian Pacific says it's a small player in U.S. fertilizer shipments, moving fewer than 50 cars daily with an overall market share of about 10 percent.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/04/18/us/ap-us-rail-delays-fertilizer.html?hp

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. BNSF chairman says progress being made on N.D. delays

BNSF chairman says progress being made on N.D. delays

By Mike Nowatzki on May 21, 2014 at 11:25 p.m.

BISMARCK – A top BNSF executive said Wednesday the railroad is catching up with a backlog of fertilizer shipments and orders to move North Dakota farm products to market, but wet weather has hampered progress.

In a sit-down interview with Forum News Service at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Bismarck, BNSF Executive Chairman Matt Rose said the railroad still has 6,800 past-due railcars for shipment of agricultural products in North Dakota, down from a peak of 8,200 in March.
....

North Dakota grain growers and dealers have voiced concerns in recent months that BNSF and Canadian Pacific Railway may be giving priority to cars carrying Bakken light crude oil, which both companies have denied doing. The state Public Service Commission has even discussed taking legal action on behalf of farmers and grain elevators.

Growth in crude-by-rail is an easy answer for BNSF’s recent service challenges, but “it’s not entirely correct,” Rose said. Shipments of agricultural products and building materials also have increased significantly, he said. ... The railroad industry grew by 800,000 units, or carloads, from 2012 to 2013, and BNSF handled about half of that business, Rose said. Shipments to and from North Dakota accounted for at least 20 percent of the total growth, he said.