Colombia Coal Exports at Risk as Night Rail Ban to Start Feb. 13

Colombia’s main coal railway will implement a ban on night operations from Feb. 13, potentially cutting coal volumes reaching Caribbean ports by as much as 16 million tons per year, the company said.

“Based on current projections of existing users of the railroad this would equate to an annualized loss of 14 - 16 million tonnes of coal movement from the Cesar Coal Basin to the coal ports near Cienaga.,” Patrick Ross, President of Ferrocarriles del Norte de Colombia SA, or Fenoco, said in an e-mail Wednesday. “This will have a significant impact on the users of the publicly-owned railway, namely major coal producers.”