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Last month, Union Pacific Railroad loaded 993 trains in the southern Powder River Basin (SPRB) compared with 937 trains in March 2009.

The Class I boosted loadings despite a derailment of 31 loaded coal cars that occurred March 7 in Jefferson, Iowa. Both tracks on a key SPRB mainline between Omaha, Neb., and Chicago were blocked for about one day.

For March, UP registered 100 missed SPRB loading opportunities, 47 of which were attributable to utility plants, 29 to the railroad and 24 to mines. Missed opportunities were partially offset by 70 extra loadings, according to UP’s weekly coal loading performance report.

In the Colorado/Utah region, UP last month loaded 244 coal trains vs. 273 in March 2009.