News Releases for August 2003
August 29, 2003
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Hoeven Presses BNSF To Remedy Rail Car Shortage
Railroad Concedes Service Is Lacking, Promises Remedy
BISMARCK, N.D. - Gov. John Hoeven today criticized admission by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad officials that it was caught off guard by this year’s bountiful wheat harvest in parts of North Dakota. Hoeven told BNSF officials that ordered freight is showing up behind schedule and a much greater effort is needed to supply cars.
Steve Bobb, BNSF vice president of agricultural commodities, told Hoeven’s office that the company underestimated this year’s harvest freight demand. As August unfolded, Bobb said, the railroad was simply unprepared to supply more cars or the crews necessary to haul them. Producers say the railroad should have predicted the demand because early harvests predicted a bumper crop.
Hoeven has allocated $250,000 in his budget to enable the Public Service Commission to pursue a rate complaint against BNSF before the federal Surface Transportation Board because of a lack of fairness in the railroad’s rate structure across the system. The Governor said the complaint needs to address both pricing and service issues.
“This is just one more example of the railroad’s lack of responsiveness to the needs of its North Dakota customers,” Hoeven said. “Virtually every year, BNSF finds itself falling short in serving North Dakota’s farmers and grain shippers. They promote the efficiencies of larger shippers and hopper cars, but they leave many small and mid-sized shippers hanging out to dry in order to gain those purported efficiencies.”
Bobb said the railroad is leasing additional cars, converting fertilizer cars to grain cars and taking steps to speed up the slow-moving system. The railroad also committed to balancing more fairly the distribution of cars.
“At issue here is not only BNSF discriminatory pricing policies, but also its lack of service to the average North Dakota producer and elevator operator,” Hoeven said. “We need to see large-scale changes in the way BNSF manages its enormous control over the North Dakota shipping market. It’s a simple matter of fairness.”
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