Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) says he’s hoping last week’s Surface Transportation Board hearing in Fargo will mean the railcar situation in North Dakota and other Upper Midwest states will start to ease.
Shippers complain that trains are late – and as farmers complete their 2014 harvest, a lot of 2013 crops are still in the bin.
"We really made the point that both railroads (BNSF and CP Rail) have to bring more resources to North Dakota in order to solve the problem," said Hoeven. "They've got to surge their capacity here in order to address the backlog, and be able to take care of this year's harvest, as well as have capacity for the future."
Hoeven says while it appears BNSF is making some progress, CP seems to be dragging its feet.
"They say they're working on it," said Hoeven. "They're not there yet, in terms of the plans or transparency. If they don't get there, they can see some order from the STB."
Hoeven says he hopes CP got the message.