U.S. rails seek ways to haul more Wyoming coal

GILLETTE, Wyoming (Reuters) – The long trains that seem to be everywhere in this sparsely populated stretch of land haul nearly 1 million tons of Powder River Basin coal to power plants daily, but that’s simply not enough.

Utilities are clamoring for more of this fuel, which has become a popular alternative to costly natural gas. The mines in this region, dubbed the “Saudi Arabia of coal,” say they are able to increase production.

The bottleneck lies in the railroads.

Like the miners that unearth the coal, railroads must move mountains over the next few years to match the demand, said Andy Schroder, logistics director at Union Pacific Corp.

Reuters