Union Pacific hopes to stop utility Entergy from seeking damage claims for Southern Powder River Basin coal that it did not deliver last year while operating under force majeure conditions. Two separate derailments May 14-15 blocked all three lines serving the Southern PRB. Significant amounts of snow and rain had waterlogged the railbed, where poor drainage caused by coal dust in the ballast is believed to have contributed to the derailments. Both BNSF and UP notified customers of a force majeure event delay shortly after the derailments. Because of the derailments and subsequent repair efforts, significant amounts of coal were not delivered in the second half of 2005.
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