WASHINGTON \u2013 Senator John Hoeven this week pressed BNSF CEO Katie Farmer to address the rail car backlog in North Dakota and discussed the following steps that BNSF is taking to help farmers, ranchers and other shippers get their products to market:<\/p>\n
BNSF\u2019s current backlog in North Dakota is 2,752 cars past due, down from 3,600 cars last month. The senator will continue pressing this issue with the rail industry to further bring down the number of past due cars in the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur farmers and ranchers need access to reliable rail service, and these ongoing transportation disruptions create a real problem for both producers and consumers,\u201d said Hoeven. \u201cThe steps that BNSF is taking to address this issue are encouraging, and I appreciate CEO Katie Farmer for being receptive to our feedback and committing to improve communication with shippers in North Dakota. We will hold them to that commitment and continue working to resolve the rail car backlog in our state.\u201d<\/p>\n
The call to BNSF builds on Hoeven\u2019s previous efforts to address shipping backlogs and supply chain issues\u00a0for agriculture producers, among other industries. To this end, Hoeven, along with Senator Kevin Cramer, pressed the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to address prolonged rail service disruptions. The STB recently required Class I railroads to provide biweekly reports on their progress toward increasing service.<\/p>\n