Page 10 - Flathead Beacon // 5.27.2015

10 | MAY 27, 2015 NEWS
FLATHEADBEACON.COM
Just
Sayin’...
“We have been waiting a long time to get this done. But we can’t get it done if politics and short-term thinking holds up the federal dollars.”
Gov. Steve Bullock on how projects like the Kalispell bypass are being delayed because of politics in Washington D.C.
“It’s his integrity, commitment to
the truth and fair reporting that has earned the respect of politicians and readers alike from both sides of the aisle. As Chuck leaves political journalism, he leaves a giant hole that will be difficult, if not impossible, to fill.”
Sen. Jon Tester on Lee newspapers reporter Chuck Johnson who is retiring as the company closes its Helena capital bureau.
“We’re in an unprecedented drought, and we have to exercise the state’s water rights in an unprecedented way.”
Felicia Marcus, the chairwoman of the State Water Resources Control Board in California, explaining the need to cut water-use throughout the state.
A BNSF Railway employee guides an engine into a connection with other train cars at the yard in Whitefish. BEACON FILE PHOTO
With Rail Traffic Down Nationally, BNSF Furloughs Employees
Unclear how many of railroad’s 2,500 Montana employees will be im- pacted
By JUSTIN FRANZ of the Beacon
BNSF Railway is furloughing employ-
ees in Northwest Montana and across its 32,000-mile system as freight traffic on America’s rails declines.
According to the Association of Amer- ican Railroads, the number of freight car loads moved during the first full-week of May was down 7.9 percent from the same week last year. Freight traffic on America’s railroads were also down 5.3 percent in April when compared to the same month last year.
In a statement to the Beacon, BNSF spokesperson Matt Jones said that the railroad has temporarily furloughed em- ployees at its terminals across the country, including Whitefish, Shelby and Havre. However, Jones said the railroad plans on bringing back all of the furloughed work- ers as soon as business permits.
Jones could not say how many people were temporarily let go in the Flathead Valley. The railroad had more than 2,500 employees in the state at the end of 2014.
“Our workforce needs are driven by our customers’ freight transportation needs. Customers’ volumes in the near term have come down somewhat from their prior es- timates. As a result we are having to adjust our workforce demand numbers down to match volume and the work required to move that volume,” Jones said. “As part of that, we are reducing the hiring plans for
the next several months and are, unfor- tunately, having to temporarily furlough some of our employees.”
According to the AAR, while ship- ments of some commodities were up na- tionally during the first week of May oth- ers were down from last year, including coal, metallic ores and metals, and grain.
Although BNSF does not release spe- cific traffic numbers to the public, infor- mation released by the state of Montana shows that the number of crude oil trains from North Dakota is also down this spring. In September 2014, as many as 18 oil trains were traveling through the Flat- head Valley every week. But earlier this month, BNSF told the state that oil traffic through the area had fallen to eight to 12 train loads a week.
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