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In April, Union Pacific Railroad loaded 835 coal trains in the southern Powder River Basin (SPRB) compared with 1,047 trains in April 2008.

The Class I logged 106 missed loading opportunities in the region, 20 of which were attributable to mines, 85 to utility plants, and one to UP. The missed SPRB loading opportunities partially were offset with 67 extra train loadings, according to the railroad.

“Several utility plants have been experiencing higher-than-usual occurances of breakdowns and slow unloading situations, which has delayed the return of empty trains for loading," UP officials said in a weekly coal loading performance report.

The Class I also loaded 219 coal trains in the Colorado/Utah region compared with April 2008’s 346 trains. Although Colorado/Utah region loadings continue to be depressed due to coal production problems, UP met 100 percent of National Coal Transportation Association demand in April, the railroad said.