Transportation
In Spring 2005, coal extracted from the mines would retail at the mines for around $5 a ton. However, power stations and plants in the eastern United States were paying over $30 a ton – the difference caused by the cost of transportation. (In October 2008, the mine-mouth price of Powder River Basin coal was closer to $15 per ton.) To transport coal from the basin, there is a joint railway line owned by the BNSF Railway and the Union Pacific Railroad running the length of the southern section of the Powder River Basin, including the climb over Crawford Hill, Nebraska. A third railroad, the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad, has faced strong resistance from many parties for its attempts to extend its rail line into the coal mining area – more so since its purchase by the Canadian Pacific Railway.
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