Coal: Another Nail in the Coffin

Updates

December 4, 2012: CNP will sells its track west of Tracy, MN, now that coal is dead. The link will take you to a video business news interview (which I hate [the video format, not the news, although in this case, that's bad, also]). The video noted that the cities of Mankato, MN, and Rochester, MN, were both against the CNP deal to ship coal from Wyoming through their cities to the east coast. It was noted that the Mayo Clinic was particularly involved in trying to stop the train coal shipments.

Original Post

From Yahoo! In-Play today:

Canadian Pacific announced it will take a Q4 pre-tax non-cash charge of ~$180 mln over Powder River Basin option: Co announced it will take a Q4 pre-tax non-cash charge of ~$180 mln ($107 mln after tax) on its option to build into the Powder River Basin (PRB).

When CP acquired the Dakota Minnesota & Eastern railroad in 2007, it also acquired the option to build a 260-mile extension of its network into coal mines in the PRB. Components of the charge include the option, engineering design costs, land and capitalized interest.

It is CP's intention to defer indefinitely plans to extend its rail network into the PRB coal mines based on continued deterioration in the market for domestic thermal coal, including a sharp deterioration in 2012.

Cue up Connie Francis.