I can’t get these facts out of my head:
The coal industry is entirely at the mercy of the railroad companies, and could not survive for more than a few months without a fresh supply of coal. Railroads can take up to 80% of the cost of a ton of coal, and the coal companies depend on the railroads far more than the railroads depend on the coal companies. In fact, the coal industry didn’t really kick off until railroads started chugging. The railroads have fought legislation taxing or regulating carbon emissions. BNSF worked with ExxonMobil and others to confuse the public about the science behind climate change. “Big Coal”, a book by Jeff Goodell has a whole chapter on this. He states, “Already railroad congestion is the biggest bottleneck to the expansion of coal-fired power plants.”
Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) are the two North American railroad companies sharing a monopoly on coal transport. Without them, there would be no coal industry as we view it today. And seeing as the coal industry is a necessary casualty in the fight against catastrophic climate change (my deepest apologies to those who depend upon it for their livelihood), these are some very strategic targets.

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