BNSF Railway wants to launch international double-stack service this week between Southern California and Salt Lake City via trackage rights over Union Pacific’s former Western Pacific route through the Feather River Canyon.
Not so fast, UP says.
Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) says that BNSF has not provided sufficient notice so that UP can hire and train crews to handle the five trains per week between Roseville, Calif., and Salt Lake City. UP also says the BNSF trains must follow its directional running pattern, with eastbounds moving over the former Southern Pacific route over Donner Pass – which would trigger a provision requiring BNSF to pay for half the cost of UP’s 2009 double-stack clearance project.
So BNSF yesterday asked federal regulators for an emergency order directing UP to permit it to begin operating the trains this week for customer CMA CGM via the former Western Pacific, which BNSF dubs the “northern route.”
“BNSF respectfully requests that the Board promptly issue a decision ordering UP to allow BNSF to run double-stack intermodal trains eastbound and westbound over the Northern Route pursuant to BNSF’s trackage rights over these lines and ordering UP to provide the crews for these BNSF trains,” BNSF said in a filing with the Surface Transportation Board.
The trains will use a new intermodal terminal on short line Salt Lake Garfield & Western.
“The SLGW intermodal facility will open for business today,” BNSF said in its July 7 filing. “The first empty train arrived in Salt Lake City last night and the first container arrived today. Once loaded, the first westbound train is expected to leave Salt Lake City this week. BNSF anticipates that the first eastbound movement of BNSF double-stack intermodal trains over the Northern Route will begin as early as later this week.”
BNSF contends that the trackage rights agreement that was part of UP’s 1996 acquisition of Southern Pacific allows it to select which lines it will operate over.
“At the time of the UP/SP merger, there was no restriction on BNSF running double-stack intermodal trains bi-directionally on the Northern Route, and there is no such restriction today,” BNSF told the board.
In addition, BNSF notes that it already operates both eastbound and westbound traffic over portions of the former Western Pacific.
“BNSF operates bi-directionally today on a portion of the Northern Route between Roseville, Calif. and Keddie, Calif., so BNSF assumed that it could move its new intermodal service bi-directionally on the remaining segment of the Northern Route between Keddie, Calif. and Weso, Nev.,” BNSF told the board.
BNSF also claims that UP’s attempts to delay the new service are retaliation for losing Marseilles-based CMA CGM’s business.
“By refusing to allow BNSF to run its double-stack intermodal trains eastbound over the Northern Route, UP is blatantly attempting to disrupt the business of BNSF and its intermodal partners and to recoup UP’s lost contribution from that intermodal business by forcing BNSF to pay for one-half of the costs UP unilaterally incurred when it took steps to increase the clearances of the Donner Pass tunnel on the Southern Route for its own business purposes in 2009,” BNSF told the board.
BNSF initially told UP on May 2 that it was planning the new service that would begin in June, without specifying a route.
CMA CGM, in a letter to the STB, urged regulators to act quickly to allow the service to begin.
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