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In July, Union Pacific Railroad loaded 1,033 coal trains in the Southern Powder River Basin (SPRB) compared with 1,013 trains in July 2009. The Class I’s trains-per-day average rose from 30.7 in June to 33.3 in July.

“This is 112 more trains than were loaded in June and is the largest month-to-month increase we have seen since July 2009,” UP officials said in a weekly coal loading performance report.

The railroad reported 104 missed SPRB loading opportunities in July, 44 of which were attributable to mines, 34 to UP and 26 to utility plants. Derailments last month near Duluth and Grove, Kan., and Clear Creek, Neb., on UP, and near Eton, Mo., on BNSF Railway Co. caused a portion of the missed loadings, UP officials said. However, missed loading opportunities were partially offset by 83 extra loadings.

In the Colorado/Utah region last month, UP loaded 209 coal trains compared with 250 trains in July 2009.