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On Jan. 1, BNSF Railway Co. launched its mileage-based fuel surcharge program — the rail industry’s first — for unit coal train and agricultural product shipments. Mileage calculations are based on the rail distance between a shipment’s billed origin and destination points as posted on the Class I’s Web site.

“In this era of tight transportation capacity, rapidly rising fuel prices and fuel price volatility, BNSF believes a mileage-based surcharge program is the most direct and accurate method of reflecting the impact of fuel price changes on BNSF and our customers,” officials said in a prepared statement.

Later this year, the railroad will revise information systems to begin providing the mileage-based program for intermodal, automotive and other carload shippers.