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Last month, Union Pacific Railroad loaded 723 coal trains in the Southern Power River Basin compared with 940 trains in April 2011.

In the Colorado/Utah region, the Class I loaded 199 coal trains versus 201 a year earlier.

The reduced train loadings reflect an ongoing weakness in domestic coal demand. U.S. railroads’ coal traffic plunged 16.2 percent to 105,722 carloads in the week ending April 28, and through 2012’s first 17 weeks, their coal volume declined 11.3 percent to 1,983,589 units compared with the same 2011 periods, according to Association of American Railroads data.

UP also announced that Lowe’s Home Improvement named the Class I its  2011 Rail Carrier of the Year. The award recognizes UP’s “superior commitment to customer service and its ability to differentiate itself from other railroads by providing a variety of products,” Lowe’s officials said in a prepared statement.
 
The Class I now has won the award twice. Lowe's began the railroad recognition program in 2009 and UP was the first recipient.