Why can BNSF deal with the coal dust problem through increased maintenance?
Cleaning up coal dust after it has escaped from the coal cars in transit is not an acceptable alternative to taking preventive measures to reduce coal dust emissions. Routine maintenance procedures cannot address the structural problems caused by coal dust that accumulates along the rail lines. Extraordinary maintenance measures are required to deal with this problem. For example, BNSF has found that it must increase substantially the frequency of undercutting – where the ballast is removed, cleaned and replaced – to remove coal dust accumulations. In addition to the high costs of such operations, the increased maintenance activities can adversely affect service availability and reliability. Undercutting operations take rail lines out of service for protracted periods of time. This cuts back on line capacity that would otherwise be available for transporting coal and can lead to congestion and service restrictions.
