If you want to carry crude oil in an older railroad car, it’s going to cost you.
Fort Worth-based BNSF Railway, the largest U.S. crude-by-rail carrier, is offering lower rates to lug oil in cars that meet the latest federal specifications issued in May. That means the vast majority of cars riding the rails today, known as DOT-111 and CPC-1232, will cost more to haul.
The new rates are part of a plan by the railroad, owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, to push older cars off the tracks as regulators scrutinize the industry over a series of high-profile derailments and explosions. To that end, BNSF published higher rates for older cars relative to more advanced models, such as the DOT-117, said spokesman Michael Trevino.
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