Greyhounds said the following:
[snipped] "...It's too bad. They had a good business plan and a great shot at success. But they were reliant on one supplier, the BNSF, and when that supplier got into trouble Cold Train got in to a coffin. It's a good rule to have more than one supplier, but I don't know how Cold Train could have worked that out..."[snip]
BaltACD SAID: "...The more articles I read about this - it is sounding like Cold Train was undercapitalized and barely making ends meet when they were getting the 90% performance. There is a whole novel of things that are not being published about this happening..."
I would wonder if there could have been any thought of a possible rerouting to a different line towards the East? Realizing that any extra miles would cause additional expenses to Cold Train, but it sure seems counter-productive to not try a longer route to save their operation? Could not CN or CP provide a route out of Northwestern Washington State?
To BaltACD's point... It seems to be a given, in most start-up operations, that undercapitalization is a real problem,. I would be curious to know if they had negotiated a Contract with the BNSF for a level of guaranted services for their Trains[Cold Train's]] over a given routing with BNSF. If that is an affirmative answer: Then the question would seem to be come one of "Who Dropped the Ball'? As was said.. There HAS to be a lot more to this story than is being made public right now...
Here is a link to what may be "the rest of the story" [Note: It may require a free registration to view it?]
[snipped] FTA : "...Since November, Cold Train said, the BNSF service issues have cost it more than 70 percent of its business, which was primarily hauling refrigerated apples, onions, pears, potatoes, carrots and cherries.
"This loss of (BNSF) service along with an anticipated record 2014 tree fruit crop in Washington State, is making it increasingly evident that apple and pear shippers will be scrambling to find other transportation options to ship cargo eastbound from Washington State at a time when over the road transportation is already experiencing extreme shortages causing delays and lost sales opportunities," Charles Pomianek, Wenatchee Valley Traffic Association executive director, wrote in a July 15 letter to the Port of Quincy. The association represents 30 tree fruit growers that ship 60,000 truckloads of fresh fruit annually.
The reduction in BNSF service coincides with the growth of apple production in Washington state, Kirk Mayer, manager of the Washington Growers Clearing House, wrote to the port in a July 16 letter. The Cold Train last year shippped more than 4,000 containers, or about 5,000 truckloads, of Washingtion tree fruit, which was primarlily apples, Pomianek said. Washington apple and pear producers were expected to double the loads they put on the Cold Train this year, he added..." [snipped]
