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Last year, BNSF Railway Co. set a coal loading record and logged another holiday season without a service hitch for United Parcel Service.

The Class I loaded 291.1 million tons of coal system-wide, up 1.4 percent from the previous record of 287 million tons set in 2006. Coal carloadings totaled a record 2.5 million units, a 0.5 percent increase compared with the previous high-water mark, which also was established in 2006.

In the Powder River Basin, which includes Wyoming and Montana mines, daily coal train loadings averaged 50.2, up 1 percent year over year.

"Credit this achievement to cooperation among BNSF, the mines and our utility customers to maintain velocity of the coal train network despite some challenges from flooding and winter weather," said Steve Bobb, BNSF group vice president-coal, in a prepared statement. "BNSF's investment in capacity expansion during 2007 also helped us set this record."

Meanwhile, the Class I completed a "perfect" peak shipping season for UPS. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the railroad handled more than 34,000 UPS trailers, delivering the freight to sorting facilities on time and damage-free. The railroad now has logged perfect seasons eight times since 1995 (including 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2004).

BNSF achieved perfection despite three washouts and more than 40 mud slides along 30 miles of track between Everett and Seattle, Wash., that were caused by storms dumping more than 11 inches of rain, and ice storms that downed trees and cut off power in the Ottumwa Subdivision.