Regular readers of this blog may remember that at the end of most of my writings on how the fracking industry is positively impacting our industry, I generally add a caveat regarding the future. I suggested that there would ultimately be one or more accidents involving crude-by-rail (CBR) or some of the NGLs (natural gas liquids) that fracking produces.
Resuming a familiar pattern during the week ending May 25, 2013, U.S. freight carload traffic fell 3.3% measured against the comparable week in 2012, while U.S. intermodal volume rose 1.4%, the Association of American Railroads reported Thursday, May 30.
Carloads of crude oil on U.S. Class I railroads set a record in 2012, up 256% from crude carloads in 2011, modestly helping to offset declines in other freight carload categories last year, according to results released by the Association of American Railroads Thursday. Crude oil in 2012 represented 0.8% of all U.S. Class I rail carloads, up from 0.2% in 2011. AAR reports crude-only carloading data on a quarterly basis.
CN and Tundra Energy Marketing Ltd., which handles crude oil on behalf of producers in the Williston Basin, including parent company Tundra Oil & Gas Partnership, have signed a memorandum of understanding to construct a crude oil railroad tank car loading terminal near Cromer, Man., to meet the needs of Bakken crude oil producers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.