BNSF, NS win Powder River coal move - Rail Update - Brief Article

Railway Age, June, 2002

Under separate contracts, Burlington Northern and Santa Fe and Norfolk Southern on Jan. 1, 2004, will begin moving up to 14 million tons of Powder River Basin coal annually to Georgia Power's Robert W. Scherer generating plant near Macon, Ga. BNSF announced its "long-term" contract with Georgia Power, one of four operating subsidiaries of the Southern Company, on May 21.

BNSF will move the coal from mines in Wyoming and Montana to Memphis, where NS will rake over. "The Scherer contract award represents an important expansion of BNSF's coal franchise and builds on a close working relationship we have established over the past eight years with several of the operating companies of Southern," said BNSF Chairman, President, and CEO Matthew K. Rose. BNSF currently brings about 12 million tons of coal a year to a generating station of Alabama Power Co., another Southern company. In the past BNSF has handled coal on a limited basis to the Scherer plant.