EB mess

[lionelhoguy]

It was a dead freight.

 

[mwmnp]

If you're looking for something to read, head on over to the Surface Transportation Board's website and have a look at all the filings made in the public hearing being held regarding "United States Rail Service Issues" such as the mess affecting the Empire Builder. Go to this page and search under Docket # EP-724-0 or enter "UNITED STATES RAIL SERVICE ISSUES" into the "Case Title" field. Expect the results to load very slowly.

Or, if you aren't interested in all the filings:

• Here is Amtrak's testimony and presentation
• Here is BNSF's presentation (I highly recommend looking at this one)
• Apparently the only thing CP presented was this single slide about grain traffic

 

[tricia]

If you're looking for something to read, head on over to the Surface Transportation Board's website and have a look at all the filings made in the public hearing being held regarding "United States Rail Service Issues" such as the mess affecting the Empire Builder. Go to this page and search under Docket # EP-724-0 or enter "UNITED STATES RAIL SERVICE ISSUES" into the "Case Title" field. Expect the results to load very slowly.

Or, if you aren't interested in all the filings:

• Here is Amtrak's testimony and presentation
• Here is BNSF's presentation (I highly recommend looking at this one)
• Apparently the only thing CP presented was this single slide about grain traffic

Thanks for posting this--especially the links to Amtrak's and BNSF's testimony.

Am I missing something, or is the only remedy (for decline in OTP) that Amtrak is suggesting here is that the government should pay attention to the stats that Amtrak gives them, and "ask" freight carriers to report to them how they're handling passenger trains?

Here's the relevant quote, at the conclusion of Amtrak's testimony:

"Amtrak services nationwide, and particularly the long
distance trains shown on this slide, are experiencing growing levels of delay on host railroads. If
this is not addressed, it will translate into significant impacts to our service, our passengers, and
our bottom line. We want to avoid that, and we prefer to address and fix this system-wide
problem by working cooperatively with our host railroad partners. We do, however, have an
obligation to provide the traveling public with the level of service mandated by the statute, and
we therefore believe that the STB could significantly assist us by monitoring the statistics
Amtrak publishes and asking the freight carriers to report periodically to the STB on their
handling of Amtrak trains. We believe this would help us to ensure that the public interest in a
safe, efficient and reliable intercity passenger rail service is safeguarded in the years to come."

 

[montana mike]

A good read! It least the info verifies what has been posted here by many people. BNSF clearly recognizes they are in a deep hole, but that it will take a couple more years to dig themselves out of that hole. I guess patience is the key.

:-(

PS-Some good news is that the Spring flooding appears to be much less than normal throughout most of the Hi-Line area

 

[Ryan]

Agreed.

Although the recent trend of all of the host roads treating Amtrak like crap is troubling.

 

[Joe F]

EB 8(15) is out of Havre only 20 minutes late, running on the new schedule.

I noticed that on the Dixieland status maps, 8 is showing up as 1008 when you hover the cursor over the marker (which still shows 8). Is this a new designation being used with the temporary schedule change? The PDF timetable on the Amtrak site still shows it as 8/28.

 

[neroden]

The host road CEOs need to be brought up on criminal charges for this. Or they could just be declared terrorists and thrown in Gitmo -- that's the way we do things these days isn't it? :-(

 

[CHamilton]

I noticed that on the Dixieland status maps, 8 is showing up as 1008 when you hover the cursor over the marker (which still shows 8). Is this a new designation being used with the temporary schedule change? The PDF timetable on the Amtrak site still shows it as 8/28.

I understand that "1008" is being used because there is still an 8 running on the old schedule that hasn't gotten to its destination yet. In a couple of days, once there are no longer two active trains on the same route with different schedules, that temporary designation will not be needed.

 

[Paulus]

The host road CEOs need to be brought up on criminal charges for this. Or they could just be declared terrorists and thrown in Gitmo -- that's the way we do things these days isn't it? :-(

What, you think that they're massively delaying their own freight trains just out of some weird spite for Amtrak? Canadian National and Canadian Pacific are facing significant fines because of their inability to move the grain harvest, the Empire Builder is just caught in the same mess as everyone else.

 

[montana mike]

EB 8(15) is out of Havre only 20 minutes late, running on the new schedule.

I noticed that on the Dixieland status maps, 8 is showing up as 1008 when you hover the cursor over the marker (which still shows 8). Is this a new designation being used with the temporary schedule change? The PDF timetable on the Amtrak site still shows it as 8/28.

The Eastbound EBs have been running pretty close to schedule thru much of MT, it is the eastern part of MT and most of ND where things go down hill rapidly. Number 7(15) is fairing terribly thru ND. Having lost well over 4 hours on the schedule so far. Amtrak only adjusted the westbound EB by 90 minutes, so this bears watching........sadly.

 

[tim49424]

I noticed that on the Dixieland status maps, 8 is showing up as 1008 when you hover the cursor over the marker (which still shows 8). Is this a new designation being used with the temporary schedule change? The PDF timetable on the Amtrak site still shows it as 8/28.

I understand that "1008" is being used because there is still an 8 running on the old schedule that hasn't gotten to its destination yet. In a couple of days, once there are no longer two active trains on the same route with different schedules, that temporary designation will not be needed.

That would be with today's trains out of SEA/PDX which are back to being listed as 8/28.

 

[TraneMan]

Ok, 8 Made it in MOT early, and sat there for over 2 hours.. WOnder what was gong on?

-Sent from my iPad using Amtrak Forum App.

 

[mwmnp]

I've gone through all of the filings that have been made to date in the public hearing being conducted by the Surface Transportation Board. Here are some excerpts that demonstrate the moods of some of the freight customers along the Empire Builder route.

BNSF's on-going service problems are estimated to cost United Sugars and its members tens of millions of dollars for the 2013 campaign.

Although BNSF has mostly attributed its service problems to a harsh winter, United Sugars believes there is a more fundamental cause. Average train speeds on the BNSF have been declining for more than one year. Average dwell time at BNSF terminals has been increasing since last summer. The winter of 2013/2014 was long and cold, but it seems clear that the poor BNSF service is much more than a "winter" problem. Given the decline in BNSF performance over the past year, and the ongoing surge in traffic on the railroad (oil, coal, intermodal), coupled with an even more aggressive capital program for 2014 (which can tend to slow trains), United Sugars harbors grave concerns that BNSF will not be able to quickly resolve its service problems and that those problems will be exacerbated once again next Winter.

-- United Sugars Corporation

Although there have been recent signs of improving rail service, there is concern that this year's crop will not be moved before the new crop has to go into storage, which could create major problems during the upcoming 2014 harvest. There are reports of elevator operators storing millions of bushels of grain on the ground and refusing to buy more from farmers. Reports from North Dakota co-op managers indicate 85 percent of this year's corn crop is still in either onfarm or warehouse storage.

-- United States Department of Agriculture


The voluminous and very profitable PRB to PNW export coal traffic and the profitable Bakken oil traffic to the Pacific Northwest appear to be consuming most of the existing rail capacity, displacing Montana grain shippers and others, with the result of higher freight rates for other rail shippers and increasingly deteriorating service.

-- Montana Farmers Union


The last 6 months the BNSF has failed to deliver product to our 2 major Distribution Centers, one in Fridley MN and Hodgkins IL, both of these facilities are direct served by BNSF. Service times have taken as long as 33 days (normally 12 day transit). We have had several printers just cancel the order as we were totally unable to tell the printer when to expect the cars. Some of this paper is still sitting in the warehouse at our expense. We have had to move over 30 car loads to intermodal loads and pay for premium service. This extra 15 to 20% in transportation expenses has been crippling to our costs, not to mention the main carrier is JB Hunt who rides the BNSF trains and has also had service disruptions that adversely affected our customers. We have lost business due to our inability to timely service the Midwest.

-- West Linn Paper Company, Portland, OR


Although we remain concerned about coal deliveries to all of the Xcel Energy coal-fired plants, our comments are focused on rail service impacts on PRB deliveries to the Sherco generating station located roughly 45 miles north and west of Minneapolis, Minnesota. This station has three large coal fired generators, totaling just under 2,500 MWs of generating capacity. It is the third largest plant in the upper Midwest, and the tenth largest plant in the country....

This plant has single carrier rail service from the BNSF. Beginning in October of 2013, we saw a decline in coal deliveries to the Sherco station, receiving only 66% of the tons we nominated for delivery that month. This performance has continued through the first three months of 2014, with only 53% of the tons we nominated actually being delivered. The average train cycle times for deliveries of Wyoming and Montana PRB coal to the Sherco plant increased by over 50% for the first quarter 2014 versus first quarter 2013. From December 1st, 2013 to April 1st, 2014, the Sherco inventory has decreased by 771,000 tons, equal to 29 days of maximum bum. Substituting natural gas for coal is not an option at this station. It is essential that we restore our inventory to safe levels before the summer.

-- Xcel Energy


We recognize that the carriers and the Board have made some data concerning railroad service metrics available to the public and that BNSF has been taking steps to address its difficulties. However, we and our members do not believe that there has been full transparency as to the performance shortages, the underlying causes of those problems, the current level of service and related deficits, exactly what measures are being taken to address those problems, and the means by which the effectiveness of those measures may be evaluated and monitored. We ask the Board to address all of these areas.

-- American Public Power Association, Edison Electric Institute, National Association Of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association


Although we were being told that a substantial amount of delays were caused by abnormally cold weather and snow accumulation, it became increasingly clear that North Dakota agricultural commodities were not being given the same treatment as oil industry commodities. We believe railcars are prioritized as follows: oil (with 1,600 cars per day moving out of North Dakota), coal, container shipments and then agriculture.

Agriculture groups had heard in previous meetings with BNSF that they were making attempts to “harmonize” agriculture and oil shipments; it appears that ag has fallen down on the list of priorities. When the oil boom was just beginning, BNSF officials seemed to believe that oil shipments would not affect agriculture shipments because oil goes south and grain goes east and west. Obviously, no one could have known the significant impacts oil would have on our rail infrastructure, as we have oil heading in all four directions.

-- North Dakota Farmers Union


Much has been said about the development of oil drilling in North Dakota. Many grain elevators believe the increased attention to oil by railroads is at the expense of grain. Tanker cars clog sidings and yards and move before anything else. This consumes power and crews.

-- Plains Grains & Agronomy


One of our biggest concerns looking forward is the likelihood of going into this fall's harvest with elevators close to full of grain and no freight to ship it. This will create some major problems, which will back onto farm storage and harvest delays.

There is a perception that the railroads are providing preferential treatment to the movement of oil out of the North Dakota Bakken Range. This perception is reinforced when an elevator, that has been waiting months for delivery of grain cars, sees an oil train-a-day, go rolling past his facility. The BNSF has, for example, taken the unprecedented move to purchase 5000 new double hull and safer oil tankers to address the lingering safety problem associated with moving the volatile Bakken crude oil. This move only reinforces this perception of a long term commitment to oil and a persistence of unprecedented congestion on the rail network. Up until now, all oil tankers were privately owned and not railroad owned. We have witnessed first-hand, the reported 1363% increase car loadings of oil since 2010, a trend that will continue to adversely affect efficiencies on the rail network.

-- Minnesota Grain and Feed Association


As the Spring planting season quickly approaches, it is absolutely critical to get fertilizer from production and storage facilities to the fields. There is typically a narrow 60-90 day window in which to do so. But the significant service slow-downs on BNSF and CP have made these seasonal shipping patterns much more difficult. Transit times are taking longer, which has decreased equipment utilization. [The Fertilizer Institute] and its members are genuinely concerned that the fertilizer industry will not be able to deliver the fertilizer needed for crop production, particularly in major agricultural areas served by BNSF and CP. If the necessary supply of fertilizer is not available, those crops, and thus food production, will be reduced. That in turn can lead to higher food prices for consumers.

-- The Fertilizer Institute

This past fall, we saw shuttle train cycle times dramatically slow down. Shuttles we load at harvest generally ship to the Pacific Northwest (PNW) export market via the BNSF. A typical cycle time for loading at origin in South Dakota, shipping to the PNW, unloading at a destination elevator, and then returning to South Dakota for the next loading generally takes about 12 to 13 days. Normally, a grain shuttle will load an average of 2.5 times per month and "cycle" back. However, this fall, the shuttles cycled in an average of 18 to 20 days or 1.5 trips per month. This increased cycle time, effectively reduced the amount of grain shipped by a given shuttle by 40 percent! In fact today, our cycle times still continue to deteriorate. Our current cycle times have pushed out to 24 days or only 1.3 trips per month here in early April....

It is soon planting time in the Dakotas, and fertilizer needs to reach my farm and others this spring. I have pre-paid for my fertilizer needs for the year, but now I'm wondering if the railroad will be able to deliver. It's yet another economic crunch that is hitting us all. Fertilizer supply is also heavily dependent on rail; for example: North and South Dakota need the equivalent of 2.5 million tons of urea nitrogen fertilizer for spring planting this year. If this moves by rail, that's equivalent to 26,000 railcars. But if we had to rely on trucks to deliver that same amount, it would require over 100,000 truckloads of fertilizer shipped from great distances in a very tight delivery window. Without dependable rail service, crop production this spring will be in jeopardy.

-- South Dakota Wheat Growers Cooperative

During a significant portion of 2013 and continuing through now, many of the ADM facilities have been experiencing considerable rail service problems. We have been in constant communications with the carriers over their service problems, which appear to be very widespread, system-wide in nature. We are experiencing multiple issues with getting cars spotted and significantly slow transit times at many of our facilities. Among other things, these failures have caused us to cut processing (including crush reductions of up to tens of thousands of bushels a day) due to a lack of adequate rail transportation of our commodities.

-- Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (ADM)

• Elevators expressed that BNSF local personnel, operating in oil field areas, have stated that servicing grain traffic (that has been moving in these areas for 100 years) is ‘annoying’
• Several elevators talk about the real fear of railroads ‘retaliation’ if they or their company talk to regulators. Fact: many local elevators are muzzled by their parent or financing elevator companies from appearing and testifying. Intimidation and retaliation are real.
• Many elevator operators are showing 60 to 90+ days behind on getting cars
• Some grain shippers talked about the late deliveries of empty grain trains to the elevators, the slow pick up of loaded cars from the elevators (sometimes taking weeks), the delay in local yards with the shipment of loaded grain trains, “loads of wheat trains are just sitting there”
• “We sense favoritism, the delivery of sand and gravel cars gets access within 9 days, but 30+ days on grain cars on the same line and now 90+ days and counting”
• “The BNSF problems seem to be self-imposed – insufficient manpower, not enough rail cars, and not enough locomotives, Bakken oil shipment have increased by 3,000% since 2005 and six fold since 2011”
• MT lumber shippers were being told in summer of 2013 that they should expect service delays (that they were incurring in summer of 2013) for the next 3-5 years as BNSF repairs and increases capacity along the BNSF Hi-Line
• BNSF is dictating to coal companies how much inventory they can keep at their individual generating stations – “Unless your numbers (inventory or dead piles) are in single digit days, don’t bother ordering more trains.”
• Coal shippers continue to see the rail service meltdown as negatively affecting their operations of producing power – many power plants are faced with trying to save their stockpiles for the upcoming heavy power usage months of the summer, by reducing current generation and trying to make up shortfall power needs through purchases on the grid.

-- Alliance for Rail Competition and Agricultural Commissions and Organizations (ARCACO)

Interestingly, and perhaps tellingly, the oil and gas industry has had very little to say so far. The only filings to date from that sector come from PBF Holding Company, which owns refineries that receive crude oil shipped through Chicago by BNSF and CP, Valero, whose concern relates purely to the shipment of ethanol from the company's Midwestern plants, and Northern Tier Energy, which operates a mid-sized refinery in St Paul Park, MN. Here is a portion of what these companies have to say.

PBF ships approximately 70,000 carloads per year of crude oil, petroleum products and petrochemicals by rail. It relies on consistent service and ratable deliveries to sustain its business. While the service problems this winter and spring have affected PBF as it has many other shippers, PBF believes that the railroads are working to correct the issues and that better weather will help, or at least not impede, those efforts.

Based on the apparent focus of the hearing, and the complaints the Board has evidently been receiving from certain shippers (primarily of agricultural products and coal), PBF is concerned that the efforts to resolve the shipments of coal and agricultural products' issues not have the unintended effect of further exacerbating the service issues faced by shippers of other commodities such as crude oil. The reliable and ratable delivery of crude oil to our refineries is necessary in our manufacturing process.

-- PBF Holding Company

We fully appreciate the difficult weather conditions that have contributed to this situation and the hard work of the rail carriers during this period. However, the lack of transparency as it relates to rail assets (crews and locomotive power) and continued poor rail service make it very difficult to operate our business and help meet U.S. demand for ethanol.

The impact of the loss of Valero's and other Midwestern U.S. ethanol production is apparent in the marketplace. U.S. fuel ethanol inventories as reported by the U.S. Department of Energy on March 28, 2014 show ethanol inventories are 10% lower than the same period in 2013. In PADD 1 (the East Coast), average March 2014 ethanol inventories are 27% lower than average March 2013 ethanol inventories. Because of this shortage...ethanol prices in the key New York Harbor market have soared to record levels well above $4.00 per gallon, exceeding prices for RBOB (the petroleum component of gasoline). Ethanol spot prices in Chicago and Gulf Coast markets also rose above NYH RBOB prices.

The EIA reported that logistical constraints in and around ethanol production centers in the Midwest, mainly involving railroads on which approximately 70% of ethanol is shipped, appear to be a key factor driving recent prices. These price increases are directly impacting gasoline prices and U.S. consumers as the price increases are passed through the U.S. supply chain.

-- Valero

Beginning in late 2013, CP's switching steadily declined from seven days a week to a sporadic and irregular event to an average of almost six failures a week over that ten week span....A failure being defined as a missed switch or a failure to pick up & deliver specifically ordered cars....In March, only nine days transpired without service failure. It goes without saying that such wildly unpredictable and unreliable service greatly complicates operations, production and production cost at SPPR [st. Paul Park Refinery].

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the recent degradation of CP's switching is breakdown in communications. Of the 57 service failures recorded by SPPR and reported to CP via email between January 28th and the 7th of this month, 27 elicited no response whatsoever. Eleven of those 27 failures were missed switch movements at the Refinery. What limited responses SPPR did receive were often vague or not factual in nature, blaming crew shortages or contradicted reports from CP's interchange partners. The simple fact is, we can no longer trust CP to deliver carloads on time, or to produce realistic solutions to past service failures....

Without reliable service the refinery is faced with a variety of uneconomical choices, all of which hurt the fuels supply to the local community and cost the refinery in lost revenues. In recent months, service failures have resulted in a total approximate loss in revenues of $1.3 million dollars, approximately 110,000 barrels in lost fuel production or approx. 225,500 full tanks of gas in the MN area and forced the refinery to make further uneconomic operational changes to avoid a total shut down.

-- Northern Tier Energy

 

[montana mike]

Ok, 8 Made it in MOT early, and sat there for over 2 hours.. WOnder what was gong on?

-Sent from my iPad using Amtrak Forum App.

It's only day #2 for the new schedule, but looking at the delays piling up, things do not look good at all. ALL of the EBs are waaaaay behind even the new extra padded schedule. So much for adding time to help out. Big Time Bummer. :-(

 

[EB_OBS]

Ok, 8 Made it in MOT early, and sat there for over 2 hours.. WOnder what was gong on?

-Sent from my iPad using Amtrak Forum App.

The SCD crew from inbound #7(15) was not rested due to the train arriving into MOT 4:33 late.

 

[orion]

417am- Amtrak 1008 is sitting in Fargo with air flow problems in the last Portland coach car (second to last car). Also some unruly passengers being dealt with by the Fargo police. They cannot seem to catch a break at all.

 

[montana mike]

When it rains it pours on the Empire Builders it seems.

:-((

 

[EB_OBS]

#7(16) is near 4 hours late too so #8 will likely have to wait again for SCD crews to rest.

 

[RCBev]

Geez!! My son and I want to ride the EB again in the pretty near future. We trying to talk my hubs in taking the train too. But if this continues, he will never want to ride with us.

 

[George Harris]

This seems similar to that which happened on the Sunset Route several years ago. UP has since poured a lot of money into the route to improve capacity, and there was also a significant slowing of the Sunset Limited's schedule. That route seems to now be functioning reasonably well.

All this reminds me of the saying that supposedly exists in the medical field: "All bleeding will stop." The obvious is that either the wound is closed or the body runs out of blood. Applied to the railroad issue at hand: Either the ability to haul the traffic is developed or the traffic either gives up or goes elsewhere. Put another way, if the capacity is not developed in reasonably short order, the shippers (and travelers) will give up and figure out another way.

 

[montana mike]

Well stated. My guess is the end result will be a function of both outcomes. Some customers will just leave-period-which will free up some capacity. I know that many larger agricultural firms in MT have been scrambling to look at alternatives to BNSF (there aren't any obvious options right now). If they can figure out a way (like moving the grain just a few miles north into Canada and shipping export grain via Vancouver vs US ports) this might ease their mess.

Also, intermodal has grown significantly over the past several years and I would think these shippers are looking at all sorts of alternative routes, that while perhaps a little longer, would get to their destination much quicker.

The Keystone pipeline would help some, BUT, I caution that it was not intended to move all of the Bakken oil anyway, plus moving the oil by rail gives refiners more options. This though is a long term solution. Nothing that would help in the next two years.

That's the fun about competition and a reasonably free marketplace--If there is an alternative people usually find it. Even if one is not obvious people may be able to create it!!

BNSF knows this and knows that the clock is ticking. The service for ALL customers has been abysmal and has not improved, despite the encouraging words from senior BNSF management.....

 

[tim49424]

Ok, 8 Made it in MOT early, and sat there for over 2 hours.. WOnder what was gong on?

-Sent from my iPad using Amtrak Forum App.

The SCD crew from inbound #7(15) was not rested due to the train arriving into MOT 4:33 late.

I wonder if that's what happened in MOT again tonight. #8 arrived 51 minutes early and departed 38 minutes late. They sat there for an hour and 49 minutes. Is this going to be routine with the new schedule?

 

[D.P. Roberts]

The last 6 months the BNSF has failed to deliver product to our 2 major Distribution Centers, one in Fridley MN and Hodgkins IL, both of these facilities are direct served by BNSF. Service times have taken as long as 33 days (normally 12 day transit). We have had several printers just cancel the order as we were totally unable to tell the printer when to expect the cars.

 


It always bothers em when I see freights being given priority over passenger trains, but at least the EB isn't running 21 days late!

 

 


Well, at least not yet.

 

[neroden]

Ouch. Prioritizing oil over grain is going to get BNSF into BIG trouble. I wouldn't be surprised if the Department of Agriculture weighed in. People in government do understand that grain spoils and oil doesn't.

 

[montana mike]

Ok, 8 Made it in MOT early, and sat there for over 2 hours.. WOnder what was gong on?

-Sent from my iPad using Amtrak Forum App.

The SCD crew from inbound #7(15) was not rested due to the train arriving into MOT 4:33 late.

I wonder if that's what happened in MOT again tonight. #8 arrived 51 minutes early and departed 38 minutes late. They sat there for an hour and 49 minutes. Is this going to be routine with the new schedule?

Possibly crewing issues. Does anyone know for sure? This is not a pretty sight friends.

:-(