Port and rail expansion initiatives aimed at wide-scale export of Powder River Basin coal to Asia remain alive despite entrenched opposition and the precipitous decline of the coal industry.
Communities in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana are facing stormy economic futures as coal, the the region’s dominant industry, suffers enormous losses due to global market forces.
The four-track rail corridor out of the southern Powder River Basin has been jammed with coal trains for years. The critical route connecting Wyoming energy with far flung markets is seeing a lot less traffic lately.