Inside Energy (https://insideenergy.org/tag/railroad/)
The coal industry’s recent downturn is casting ripples throughout the economy in the West. In Wyoming, the unemployment rate is climbing faster than any other state in the country—and it’s not just miners who are struggling.
Coal production is at a 30-year low. Layoffs are moving beyond coal mines to the railroads that transport coal, hitting conductors like Adam Fotta in Grand Junction, Colorado.
With temperatures dropping across the northern United States, power plants would usually be stockpiling coal in preparation for higher electricity demand during the winter months, but this year, that’s proving problematic.
EarthFix reports on a culture at BNSF railway that dismisses safety concerns and retaliates against workers who report.
