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For the second year in a row, Union Pacific Railroad has topped the Soy Transportation Coalition’s (STC) annual “Railroad Report Card.” The Class I was selected as the top-performing railroad by U.S. agricultural shippers in the third annual survey.

BNSF Railway Co. finished second for the second straight year and CSX Transportation climbed from last year’s fifth place to third place. Norfolk Southern Railway is ranked fourth; CN, fifth; Kansas City Southern, sixth; and Canadian Pacific, seventh.

The survey was completed anonymously by ag shippers of various sizes and operational scales, according to the STC. Survey questions addressed on-time performance, customer service and costs. For most questions, participants were asked to rate each of the seven Class Is on a 1-10 scale, with 10 as the highest rating.

UP ranked first in seven out of the 11 questions. On average, the railroads received a 3 percent higher score than in 2011, STC officials said in a prepared statement.

“We are pleased that grain and oilseed shippers are overall expressing increased satisfaction with the service received from our nation’s railroads,” said STC Executive Director Mike Steenhoek. “Agricultural shippers particularly have been quite complimentary regarding the railroads’ response to last year’s record flooding and destructive weather events. Communication with customers was robust and repairs to the rail network occurred with great efficiency and precision.”

The seven Class Is annually transport more than 27 million tons of soybeans, 20 million tons of soybean meal and 7 million tons of soybean oil, according to the STC.